The Way the Blade Turns
by QueenBlue093
Summary: Leila, a young branded child is the target of everyone. Somehow Ike has gotten in the middle of this mess and even promised a dying laguz he'd protect her. Now he has to figure out how to keep her and his group safe from harm. Rated T for blood and violence.
1. Prologue

Hello again everyone! Now I'm going to try and publish a new story every other week, will that happen, probably not. Before anyone ask this is not related to my last fic. Enjoy!

* * *

**The Way the Blade Turns**

_With the blood of the Three_

_The power to rid the world of sin _

_Will come to the One in the center of the blood_

_Death visits to the Three on the dais_

_While the sun hides _

_To the One with no chaos, _

_The wings that sing rather than fight,_

_And the One in-between to control all_

Prologue

Mount Lacuna; on one side one can view the imperial city of Begnion, on the other the simple country side of Crimea. Being one of the tallest mountains on the continent, Lacuna is a hard journey to the top where the small village of Lynn is located. The people of that small town lived in peace and isolation. In fact they were not well known to the rest of the world, which most preferred it that way. Of course with that mind set the people would often become too comfortable which lead to carelessness. "No one ever travels this far in the mountains," many thought, so why worry about attacks?

When one did come no one was prepared. Several lives would have been spared had people not let their guard down. So now the people relied on the towers to keep them safe. These tall stone towers had always been there but never before had they been so depended on.

These watch towers were a few miles away from Lynn that helped to keep the curious or even deadly out. At night, the watchers would light the giant torches at the top; but the room the torches were kept in were covered by dark curtains, in order to conceal themselves from other countries. There were plenty who would like to harm the "inbreeders", as some have called Lynn.

But enough light escaped from the silhouette for the specialize warriors to see.

In fact, on an overcast night, at one of the towers facing Crimea, a female laguz sat on the ledge waiting for their informer to show up. Her long white tunic hung loosely on her small muscular frame and wore black leggings and boots. She was equipped with weapons that other laguz would never think about carrying; a sword, some knives, and had two hidden blades in both of her vambraces. A hood and a half face mask covered her face. The only thing visible was the area around her eyes. Everything in here outfit hid everything about her, her gender and race.

Suddenly, her beast ears under the hood picked up the familiar rhythm of wings flapping; the phantom had arrived.

She stood up and walked through the curtain behind her. "He's here," she informed the five others that were standing around a table; the torch just above their head letting the shadows dance all around them.

All of them were dressed similar to her. One of them was a laguz like her even though his laguz features were hided under a tunic and hood. His attire was all black.

There was one other female in the room. She let it know she was a woman by showing her curves and wore shorts with long stockings.

The youngest one among them had his hood down showing his short sandy hair. But unlike the others his outfit lacked the green sash the rest of them wore that represented the rank of master.

The archer and the oldest beorc didn't wear hoods but trench coats instead. The archer's large collar was pulled over his mouth and his brown hair was cut short to his head. The older one was in his fifties but still had sleek black hair tied back.

They stood away from the ray of light as the female laguz opened and closed the curtain, signaling their informer.

Within minutes, a heron laguz landed on the perch. The front of his wings was white while the back was black. As he walked toward them he transformed into his humanoid form and folded his wings neatly against his back. He was dressed in the same fashion as the others except for he wore a cape to help conceal his wings.

"What's the matter, Ghost? You sound out of breath," the black laguz teased the heron.

"Not all of us are blessed with a beast's endurance, Ralik," he snapped from under the hood and then went straight to the table to lay a map of Crimea out before them. It was well known among them that Ghost wanted nothing more than to be as skilled as them, but that could never happen. Ghost had the most important job and possibly the less appreciated, spotting their targets.

As they gathered round anxiety filled them, this would be their first mission since before the war.

"I, along with several others, have found that six people are in a conspiracy to _remove_ the queen of Crimea from her throne." Ghost pointed at the capital, "Majority of them are here."

"She's only been on the throne for a few months; surely she hasn't made enemies in her own country. Are you sure you have that right?" The woman questioned.

"Positive," Ghost nodded. "I heard them with my own ears, they mean for blood."

"Shouldn't we stay out of the affairs of other countries?" The youngest one piped up causing everyone to turn toward the youngest one. This would be his very first mission.

"Normally we would but they plan to point their sword at us next. For what reason, I cannot say. Perhaps the answer will be revealed to us."

"But…" the young beorc hesitated with his reply. "Taking lives when they haven't done anything to us."

"Our main objective is to keep danger from Lynn. If a few lives have to be sacrificed in order to save a thousand then so be it," the female laguz explained harshly, this child should know all this. But then she remembered he was still a cub and though he was only sixteen, in beorc years he was old enough, in her years he should still be by his mother's side. "But preventing a fight is not the only reason we are doing this; the queen of Crimea has been trying to fill the gap between beorcs and laguz, so naturally the Master doesn't want a hair on her head harmed," the female laguz told him in a more gentle tone.

There were some smirks under the hoods. She knew she shouldn't coddle the child but that was her nature now.

"It's a shame that we weren't able to prevent Ashnard from invading our village, and then all those people would still be alive," the archer said to change the subject.

"I can't believe they're naming a war after that bastard," Ralik snarled. "If only our brethren had succeeded in killing him, instead of falling victim to his blade, then that whole war could have been avoided. _Instead_ some common _mercenary_ ends the war."

"Perhaps Ashnard's attack was for the best," the oldest beorc started which caused everyone to stare at him. It certainly didn't bother him so continued on regardless of the looks he got underneath the hoods. "We were getting far too soft, a battle like that was what Lynn needed to wake up from its tranquil dream."

Ralik began to growl furiously, "How dare you speak of the dead like that Nyoka!" He made a threatening gesture and by his stance you could tell that he was ready to turn into his beast.

Suddenly, the female beorc stepped between to two and said, "I don't know about you two, but I for one want to get our mission started. So put you petty arguments aside!"

Nyoka turned back to the table, as if nothing happened. Ralik, on the other hand, turned away from him and folded his arms across his chest.

Everyone knew that Ralik would like nothing else than to pierce Nyoka's wind pipes with his own fangs.

It went more smoothly from then on as they picked the names off the list. Once their jobs were done they would wait in Crimea's capital and await further orders from the Grand Master.

/

After the Mad-King's War peace was restored to Tellius, or as much to be expected. On the bright side, relations between Crimea and Gallia have never been stronger.

But of course, there are those who like to ruin times like these. But if not for them the Greil Mercenaries would be out of business.

In fact, a few months after the war, in a small settlement that was just what they were doing, taking care of the ones that would disrupt this peace.

A mysterious group of bandits were camped out on the outskirts and had been harassing the villagers. So with no one knowing how to fight they hired the mercenaries.

Ike, the commander of the Grail Mercenaries, had tried to settle things peacefully but was only met with steel.

It probably wasn't necessary for all of them to have come, the bandits were mediocre. It took no time at all to take them down. Shortly, there was only three left alive. None of them had partaken in the fight yet. One had black hair and a mace resting over his broad shoulder. There was a kid with silver hair that looked to be in his late teens having two daggers at the ready. The last one carried no weapons and had a dark green tunic with a hood that covered most of his face and a green sash around him. Ike could faintly see the man's white irises.

Suddenly a woman with long red hair in mage robes ran out of one of the tents and whispered something in the hooded man's ear. He clearly didn't like what he heard by the way he gritted his sharp looking teeth. The woman, looking anxious, took a few steps back. But then he looked back at the mercenaries and then his smile turned insidious. "Oy, mercenries!" he yelled in a strange accent. "Have healer, yes?"

"_Have a healer?" _Ike repeated to himself. He looked at his second-in-command, Titania, to see that her just shrug. His staff officer, Soren, had said that they should see what they were up to. So Ike answered, "Yes."

"Real good one, yes?" The hooded guy asked again.

Ike reluctantly nodded which caused the hooded man to laugh.

"Oh, zhe goddess has surly smiled good fortune on us!" He turned to the tent and yelled, "Izzu, bring 'er."

Next thing that happened was that a huge man wearing a sleeveless tunic came out of the flap carrying a small unconscious girl under his large arms. This girl was probably no older than Mist. She had short black hair and was wearing a white robe. Ike quickly noticed that the girl's face was bloody and left sleeve was crimson red.

"We make deal? You take girl and heal 'er. We leave peacefully. Deal?" The leader proposed.

"Wait, none of this makes since? What are you planning?" Ike was just confused by the whole thing. Something like this had never happened.

"No planning. We just don't want 'er blood on hands. You betta hurry, she bleed to death soon."

"Deal," Ike said, he refused to just let her die in front of him.

The big guy just dropped her, which caused an awful _thud_ sound as she fell face first. The bandits quickly ran off, disappearing once they reached the shadows of the wood.

Once they were out of sight, everyone began to crowd around her. Rhys and Mist quickly began to heal her but when they turned her over both Ike and Soren flinched. On the corner of her forehead, under the blood and dirt, was a mark. It looked like a setting sun to Ike.

Even though this mark is completely different from Soren's mark Ike could tell from the look from his friend had that she was a branded as well.

Things were just getting weird.

* * *

_"Ike! That girl, she's gone!"_

___Could this be why those guys had her?_

_Just before Lucia pulled her back Elincia was able to see the man scaling the wall right toward her._


	2. Chapter 1

Wooo! Another chapter in a week!

To MysticGalaxia who I couldn't PM

I am a bit comma crazy. Grammar, I hate it. But I'm learning. Thanks for pointing out my run on sentences; I probably wouldn't have noticed them. Hopefully this is less awkward sounding!

Enjoy!

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Chapter 1

_I always wondered why those of us in-between have always been referred to as branded or even parentless. Maybe because out of all the races we are the most selfish. My brother took the skies away from our father and I took our mother's life._

_When I was much younger, my father could barely look at me and I was never allowed to leave the keep. On rare occasions I was allowed out into the gardens but I had to have no less than three guards. My brother was allowed to go off to train while I was to look at the world from behind glass. _

_Back then I use to spy on daddy in his study through the keyhole, I was a fairly good at hiding. But in one case when I was five I was caught._

"_Leila, what are you doing?" A soft, yet firm, voice came from behind._

_I spun around from the door I was looking through and probably had the look of a child who had just stolen from the cookie jar. I relaxed a little when I saw it was my caretakers, but only a little._

_The one that had spoken my name was called Anna. She was a young wolf laguz with long, gray hair. Her piercing yellow eyes used to scare me; for they reminded me of a hunter stalking it's pray. But they were the eyes that I always looked to for comfort._

_Hanging on her arm was her younger sister Tala. Her hair was pure white and her eyes were losing their color. Though she never sees anything she always seems to know where I was._

"_Honestly, you know better than to pry your eyes in things you shouldn't be in," Ana sighed, this wasn't the first time she had told me this._

_I frowned a little bit, "I don't get to see daddy very often, so I decided I would watch him."_

_The white wolf released her sister's arm to allow her to kneel in front of me. She pushed the bangs away from the mark on my forehead and told me, "You are just the mere image of your mother. Soon your father will no longer be haunted by her shadow and will begin to see who you are." _

"_You forgot to mention that she acts just like her mother as well sis," Tala added._

"_How could I forget?" The gray wolf clasped my hand and stood up. "Come; let the three of us be gone before he notices us."_

_As they hurried away Tala said, "Perhaps the little lady shall stop her spying."_

"_Oh Tala, you know she will only find a new hiding place." _

"_Surely not, dear sister. Not our little angle," Tala said while giving a teasing smile toward me._

_I tried hard not the let out a giggle but I failed miserably. Tala joined me which just caused Ana to roll her eyes as she led us to another part of the keep, muttering, "Why does it feel like I'm taking care of two small younglings?" _

_/~/~/_

She was awaken from her memory with a jolt and looked up at an unfamiliar ceiling. She was beginning to wonder how she got in this room when she slowly began to feel all the pain she was in. Her head, left check, and right arm were all bandaged up and she felt terribly sore. Panic wailed up inside her chest but relaxed when she found no blood on her.

Now she was wondering how she ended up like this.

So she set up and looked out the window and began to read all the energies around her.

/~/~/

The Greil Mercenaries had stopped at Port Toha in order for the girl to recover. Although they still didn't know what they were going to do with her when she woke up. Regardless, they needed to start making their way to Melior. Taking care of those bandits and saving that girl had set them back a few days.

They were asked by Queen Elincia to help watch over a ceremony in less than two weeks, Crimea was still shorthanded on soldiers. They were going to need all the help they could get, especially since Gallia is involved. They didn't quite know what it was about but what they did know was that a few laguz were going to be present.

Relations between the two countries were getting better, but there were still people who would do something stupid.

Ike, Titania, and Soren were planning their route in the inn while the others were lounging around when suddenly Mist burst in the room. "Ike!" She cried, "That girl, she's gone!"

"Gone? What do you mean she's gone?"

"Just as I said!" She shouted at her brother. "I went to check on her only she wasn't in bed and the window was open!"

"Surely she didn't climb out. We're on the second floor!" Oscar stated.

Gatrie gave a sad sigh and said, "The poor lass. She must be scarred out of her mind."

"Ike, this isn't good! She has lost a lot of blood. She could collapse on the road or worse! " Rhys worried.

"I know, so everyone split up and search for her," Ike ordered. Some of them already began heading out.

"It's not our fault the little brat ran off," Shinon argued.

Ike just ran his fingers in his hair in frustration, "Look, those guys had that girl for a reason and I for one want to find out why."

/

Everyone divided and began their search. Ike and Soren took the docks and while they looked they were discussing about the bandits. Why would they have a branded child and then give her to a bunch of strangers to heal?

"What do you make of those bandits?" Ike asked the young tactician for his perspective. After all Soren always did seem to catch little details that everyone else miss.

"I honestly don't think those guys were bandits, but what, I don't know."

Ike nodded. "None of them did listen to the bandit leader and that one guy had a weird dialect, I wonder where he was from?"

"They obviously wanted her alive, but why would they just hand her to us?" Soren said out loud. "They could have forced us to heal her; they looked at us as if they could take us all on. Then why…" But then he shook his head of his idea, "Regardless, we need to keep our guard up. They could come back for her at any moment and the fact we know nothing on how they fight makes it even more dangerous."

Ike looked around the dock to see sailors prepping ships to sail; he hopped that the girl didn't stow away on one, it would be a big hassle to search. "All the more reason for us to find her as soon as possible."

"Find who as soon as possible?" A small child like voice said behind them.

Soren had that annoyed look on his face and Ike knew that he was going to turn around and tell the person to mind their own business. But when he did he didn't say anything. Ike turned around to see what could have silenced his young friend but when he did his mouth dropped.

Before them was the girl they were looking for!

The girl barely came past Ike's stomach. Her hair was chin length and over her white robes was a wide red sash.

As the girl eyed them she came close to them and seemed to be sniffing them. "Hmm. The same energies," she murmured to herself. Ike backed away nervously while Soren just looked a little more annoyed.

She quickly jumped back and said energetically, "Since you guys were in the same building that I woke up in, do you know what happened to me?" She held up her bandaged arm.

_How did she know we were in the same building?_ Ike wondered but then he realized something. "You don't remember?"

The girl just tilted her head as she gave him a helpless look.

"It seemed like you were being held captive by a group who appeared to be bandits," Soren explained. "They had traded you for their escape, other than that we know nothing else."

She spun on her heels and sighed, "That doesn't make any sense. I mean, I don't have anything of value if they were bandits."

Ike was a little disappointed that they were back at square one. But there was still one more question he had. "You don't seem to be running away but why did you sneak out?"

The girl looked out into the sea. "I felt the ocean." But then she saw the weird looks they gave her so she explained. "I've never seen the ocean before; I was in such a rush I wasn't thinking straight."

Her face was becoming pale and she began to sway a little. Out of fear that she would collapse he grabbed her shoulder to steady her. "You've just woken up and lost a lot of blood. We better get you back so you can rest."

She rubbed her bandage arm and said, "I am feeling a little dizzy. Perhaps climbing down that window was not such a good idea."

_She _climbed_ out the window! _He thought with disbelief as he looked at her. She was so scrawny it didn't seem like she could lift up a sword much less herself.

They began to take her back to the inn, Ike holding on to her, when she abruptly stopped looking like she made a great discovery. "What's wrong?" Soren asked.

"I just realized something; I don't know either of your names. Nor do you know mine." She gave a slight bow, "I'm Leila."

/

Leila's condition had greatly improved over night, so next day they left for Melior. It was decided that Leila would come along with them. When Ike had asked her if she wanted come with them she jumped with excitement about seeing a big city.

Before they left, they learned a little bit about Leila. She came from a very small village that none of them have ever heard of called Lynn. Apparently she became tired of seeing the same landscape so she decided to run away; although she didn't use that term. She worded it as "leaving without permission".

Leila was certainly…an interesting person. She was just fascinated by everything; from the flowers in bloom to a fox on the side of the road. And she always had a smile on. If Ike had to describe her in one word it would probably be happy. Although Soren would argue that she was just an air head.

In two days they had reached Caldea by evening. Even though it was a small farming village it was still a good place as any to rest and stock up on supplies. Sadly they arrived when the weather turned ugly. It had been raining hard for the last few days in Caldea and to make matters worse the nearby river was flooding!

All of the able body villagers were stacking sand bags to prevent their homes and crops from being destroyed, but the downpour and mud wasn't helping. The bags would simply sink. The mercenaries did what they could to help, but Mother Nature was winning.

When a small section of the sand bags fell in the water began to rush in causing the rest of the wall to collapse. The elder shouted at all of them to get to higher ground.

Ike was half-way up the hill when he stopped to make sure everyone was either at the top or making their way up.

He spotted everyone but one.

"Where's Leila?" He shouted over the wind to Titania.

She quickly scanned the area and then pointed at the bottom. Ike followed to where she was pointing and found Leila; she was walking straight for the flood water!

He shouted at her but his voice didn't carry. He cursed and ran down the hill toward her. The cold droplets hit his face as he quickly, but carefully, ran down the hill. If he placed his foot the wrong way he would be sent sliding down.

Leila staggered a little as the force of the water hit her but she pressed on. When she was a good five feet away from the sand bags and the water was all the way to her thighs Ike saw that she spread her arms out like she was going to stop the waters herself. Then without any warning she slammed both of her palms into the water and began to glow.

Ike had reached the water's edge when he felt the ground beneath his feet vibrate. Then he had to shield his eyes when a bright column of light originated from Leila's small body.

His eye's adjusted quickly to the bright light but then he saw something he never thought was possible; the ground in front of her was rising!

The swordsmen watched as the ground rose as a sort of barrier against the flood water. It blocked all across and was about two feet thick. The higher the wall rose, the weaker the light Leila was giving off.

After what felt like forever, but was probably only five minutes, the ground stopped rising after twenty feet. The river thrashed violently against the barrier while the water on the other side had receded, leaving only mud.

Ike and Titania were the first to reach Leila who was slumped in the mud. The water had left Leila's clothes covered in brown swirls. Her leggings were and sleeves covered in mud. Titania knelt down and gently placed her hand on Leila's back. Ike noticed that she was breathing hard. _Could this be why those guys had her? _Ike wondered and then he looked back at the wall that was keeping the water back. _This is some amazing power she has._

"Mother Nature can be a handful, ya know?" Ike heard her mutter. She then looked up to see that most of the villagers had made their way to them. Her head dropped as she turned to face Ike. "Did I do something wrong?" Her voice was shaky.

He was wondering what she could possibly be talking about until he saw the looks the villagers gave her; fear. Their eyes were questioning and they kept their demoralizing gazes on her form. One of the younger villagers pushed his way to the front. "What are you, some kind of monster? There's no magic that can do this!" He gestured to the earth wall.

Others began murmuring about the same thing. "I've never seen anyone normal do something like that," or "No little girl should be able to do that."

Ike looked back at Leila to see that her face was hidden behind her bangs, this wasn't the first time she was told this he realized. He was about to tell all of them that Leila just saved everyone's homes but someone beat him to it.

The elder hit the teen across the chest with his cane. "Has the flood washed your manners away?" He asked the teen but it was aimed at all the villagers. "This young lady just risked her safety to protect our village." They all looked away in shame at the elder's words. He turned to her and bowed, "You have our gratitude young lady."

The others began to nod in approval as others clapped and cheered. Of course there were a few villagers that just left. Not wanting to praise someone so different, Ike assumed.

Regardless, Leila's face brightened as she stood up to return the elder's bow, "It was my pleasure to help."

"The goddess has truly blessed us with a spirit charmer to pass by our humble village in our time of need. How can we ever repay you for what you done for us?" The elder asked her.

"Spirit charmer?" Leila repeated. She looked really confused. But her expression changed which Ike figured that she just realized what he meant. "Oh no sir, I'm no spirit charmer I'm a-"

Soren cut her off by covering her mouth. "Yes, truly lucky," he said. "Perhaps you can repay us by giving us a dry place for the night."

/

The elder was more than willing to give them some rooms at the inn for the night. Everyone was grateful to be out of their soaked clothes but they had to barrow some from the innkeeper's daughter since Leila didn't have any extra and Mist didn't have any other clothes to spare. The innkeeper was kind enough to let Leila keep them since the ones she was wearing were ruined with mud. Leila was thankful for them regardless if they were two sizes too big for her, although Ike feared for the girl's safety since the skirt was far too long as it dragged across the wooden floor. She didn't seem clumsy but it wouldn't surprise him if she were to fall down the stairs.

None of them retired to bed once they changed into dry clothes. Instead, all of them were gathered into one room waiting for Leila to explain what just happened. Ike, Soren, and Oscar stayed on their feet while the others sat on the beds and chairs. Leila fidgeted in her chair as everyone watched her.

"What was that you just did to the ground?" Ike asked her calmly so not to spook the small girl.

Leila looked down at her folded hands in her lap but then her eyes would dart from one person to the next. Ike could tell she was a little scared; she probably was treated differently in her home village. Not because of her brand but because of her powers. "Come on Leila, you can trust us," Ike reassured her.

She shook her head. "It's not that, I just don't know what to tell you. For as far back as I can remember I have always been able to do things like that. The best way I can explain it is that I can feel the energies around me. With that I can manipulate those energies." Her attention turned to the fireplace. Her emerald green eyes began to glow as a spark jumped out and landed in her hand. Within seconds the spark turned into a small flame. Just a small sliver of space kept the flame from touching her palm. "See?"

Everyone started at the wonder with mix feeling. Some stared in fascination, others in alarm.

"Oh, why didn't you tell us you could something like that?" Mist exclaimed clearly charmed by Leila's power. Leila seemed a little taken aback by her outburst but she smiled.

"And don't say "because you didn't ask" alright," Shinon told her. Leila didn't say anything, she just stared at him. "What?"

"But you didn't ask," she replied innocently.

Shinon rubbed his head as if he had a head ache.

"So could you like control lightning, that would be so cool to be able to manipulate a storm," said Rolf. "Think about it, if a bad storm comes you could just send it somewhere else!"

"It certainly would Rolf," Rhys agreed.

"Lightning holds tremendous amounts of energy, I'm too afraid that I won't be able to control. And if that happens I could hurt my daddy and everyone else," Leila told them.

_She has a father? _Ike wondered. He had heard that branded were also called parentless because often they were. Maybe her father was some big figure, could that be why those guys had her. It would certainly explain why they wanted her alive but then so would wanting her for her powers. _Ugh! This is all just so confusing! _

"Alright everyone, we're leaving early in the morning so let's call it a night," Ike told them.

One by one everyone left which just left Ike, Soren, Titania, and Leila.

"Look," Soren said as soon as the door closed, "to keep wondering eyes off of us it would be best if you didn't use your power."

The flame in Leila's hand died down as she muttered, "I understand."

/

Ike and the rest of the mercenaries were up early the next morning preparing for their departure. He had sent most of them out to get some of the supplies they need like food and such.

He and Mist were about to thank the innkeeper and the elder for all they had done for them when they saw Leila knelt in front of a washing tub scrubbing her red sash against the washboard. She held it out of the water and examined it; there were still some stains on the red fabric. Leila let out a heavy sigh, "I guess this is as good as it's going to get." She wrung it out and then tied the damp cloth around her waist.

"Leila, if you wanted another sash you could have asked," Mist told her. "There's no need for you to wear a soggy one."

Noticing them for the first time Leila said, "Oh no it's nothing like that, this sash is just important to me." She looked down at her sash and she looked a lot like how Mist looked when she lost their mother's medallion.

"Oh, well, it's a very pretty color," she complimented in order to cheer her up.

"Thanks!" Leila said with a wide smile but then it dropped. "I think."

"You think?" Ike repeated.

"I don't know, are you supposed to take complements on grieving clothes?" She asked. Neither Ike nor Mist didn't know how to answer that so Leila went on to explain. "See in Lynn, when someone close to you dies you take a white sash and dye it a certain color. Like if your father dies you dye it black, if it's your mother you dye it red."

"So…your red sash means you lost your mother…right?" Ike asked sympathetically.

"Yes," she answered almost too happily. It was good that the very thought didn't send her to tears but this was a little much. But Ike just reminded himself that it was Leila he was talking to. "She died shortly after I was born. But everyone says I look and act just like her, so that makes me happy."

Both Ike and Mist weren't sure what to think of that, the thought that there could be another person like Leila was a bit scary.

/

"These criminals have been found guilty of supporting the Deain army when they invaded us over a year ago," a man by the name of Djam announced from the platform to the crowd around him. Nearly everyone in Melior had come to witness the death of these traitors.

There were five men and one woman who were chained together in a line as they waited for their turn at the rope. Djam called the first name from the paper as the guards began removing the shackles off the man in the front of the line and lead him up the steps to his death. Cheers and cries in protest echoed all around the city square.

Queen Elincia sat on a balcony just above the platform to watch the death of the traitors, she didn't like it but as queen she had to be present. She also didn't believe any of them would do the things they were accused of; in fact two of them had been part of her escort when she fled the capital when Deain attacked. But the evidence was against every one of them.

As they began to tie the noose around the man's neck she looked at Lucia and Bastian who watched solemnly. Oh how she wished Geoffrey were here, but that couldn't be helped since he and a few of the knights headed to for Tarreftnom after hearing about a murder of a tax collector.

The crowd grew silent as Djam threw back the lever causing the trapdoor gave way beneath the prisoner's feet, snapping his neck instantly. Elincia shut her eyes to keep from seeing the dead body sway slightly.

A hand gently touched her shoulder. Startled, she looked up to her to see it was her adviser, Mailliw. "Do not mourn for these traitors, your highness," he told her.

She wanted to protest, to tell him these people were innocent. But it would have only fallen on deaf ears. She may have been queen but she still couldn't help her people.

Some of the guards began to remove the traitor's body and reset it for the next one. Would this horror ever end!

Then the next prisoner began walking up the steps but there was something strange about him. This man was clade in all black and had a hood covering his face. He wasn't shackled and the guards weren't escorting him.

Apparently Elincia wasn't the only one to think that because the two guards at the steps were about to stop the hooded man but he merely pushed them aside. Both of them fell and ceased to move.

They were dead! She shot up from her seat and grabbed Lucia's arm. Seeing her face, Lucia followed Elincia's gaze and soon spotted the man. She signaled to some of the guards down below and immediately the hooded man made a dash for Djam. The man jumped into the air and Elincia saw something reflect the sun light from underneath his sleeve. He landed on Djam and slammed his palm against his neck. Even from this distance she could see the crimson liquid cover the whole stage.

The knights were beginning to come for this assassin but the he leaped off the stage into the crowd of hysterical people and was heading for the balcony Elincia was in. Two knives appeared in his hands as he threw them at the two nearest guards. The blades pierced their windpipes and they died before they ever hit the ground.

Just before Lucia pulled her back Elincia was able to see the man scaling the wall right toward her. It was unsettling to see him move at such unnatural speed that he seemed to be possessed. One of her guards stood at the ready, sword held up high, where the assassin would come up. Lucia and Bastian stood in front of ready to defend her should the assassin come for her. That's when it hit her; was this man coming for her blood? On the outside Elincia looked calm and ready but on the inside she was a small child that wanted to run away.

It all happened so fast she wasn't sure what happened herself. The assassin climbed up and blood splattered all over the place; only it wasn't the hooded man's, it was the guards. The guard fell backwards and the assassin had already scaled higher up the building. Soon he vanished over the roof and he was gone.

"All of you follow after that assassin!" Lucia ordered.

Elincia fell back into her seat; she didn't realize she had been holding her breath. "Are you okay your highness?" Bastian asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," she told him. She was just glad that man was gone. But would he be back? This worried her deeply.

"Bastian! You need to look at this!" Lucia shouted as she knelt next to the dead soldier.

Bastian walked over and Elincia peered over his shoulder. What she saw made her cry out. "Is that…" she began.

"…Fang marks," Lucia nodded.

The corpse's neck was ripped open and the man's eyes were still open, he never knew what happened. There was so much blood you almost couldn't see the marks, but one knew just by looking at it that no human being could do something like that. It looked more like a wild animal did it. But that was a man who did it, wasn't it. She didn't want to think about the other possibility.

Bastian unclasped his cloak and threw it over the dead body. "Get him out of here and don't let anyone see him."

Yes, there would be a nation crises if people began to suspect that all of this was the work of a laguz.

/

"Hurry, he couldn't have gotten far!" A knight shouted as he ran past Ralik.

_You've no idea, _he thought to himself.

He chuckled silently as more guards ran right past him. They just got out of a war and they couldn't even catch a murderer who was sitting on a bench right in front of them. You'd think they would be more alert.

Then again, Ralik was a professional. They probably weren't used to dealing with someone of his skill.

Everything was settling down as people must have given up on looking for him. Figuring that it was safe for him to walk around he stood up and made for the meeting place. Under his mask he licked his lips that were still fresh with the beorc soldier's blood.

* * *

_Now that Ralik has pulled his little stunt we'll have to move quicker before the enemy has a chance to know we're on to them._

_As a fellow branded don't you hate being mistaken as spirit charmer as well?_

_I'm not sure what's wrong with them. Our healers say they're fine but for whatever reason they can't seem to move. _


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_I wasn't originally from Lynn but from Deain. I was very young when I left, maybe three. Lynn is my true home though; Deain holds nothing for me. _

_Both of my parents died right in front of me. The three of us were about to eat breakfast that morning when they just dropped dead. Of course at the time I didn't know the difference between death and sleeping so I had just sat in my chair and waited for them to wake up. I didn't dare try to wake up papa in case got mad and hit me. He normally didn't hit me until he started drinking the stuff that smelled bad but why take the risk. I must have done something wrong to be punished as much as I did._

_So I waited, I didn't even touch my food because mama would yell at me if I started eating without papa. But after some time my hunger became too great and I started to eat, hesitantly at first. My parents were still asleep when I was done and I just continued to sit there and wait. I waited so long I was hungry again even though I had already eaten my parent's share of food and the sun was beginning to set. I wondered If I should have gone to the neighbors for help. But then again our nearest neighbors were really far away and I was told to stay around the cabin._

_Suddenly I heard something outside. It was the sound of someone heading inside! I got scared that my parents would wake up to greet the visitor and then they would be angry with me for eating the food; so I did what any three year old does, I hid under the table. _

_A pair of boots walked across the wooden floor and knelt down next to my parents. "Anything?" A gruff voice asked. This voice didn't belong to the voice in front of her but from the door way. _

_The man in front of her stood up to face the voice over the threshold. With a heavy sigh he said, "No, two are dead here like the others. This makes no sense, master."_

"_This is some plague, people just dying without a cause," the gruff voice said. "No sign of sickness, no injury. Just what is going on here?"_

"_Not everyone in this house is dead," a third voice informed them; this one was a woman's voice._

_The man who had come in first looked under the table and spotted me. A hood covered his head and his face was worn from years of labor. He startled me so I crawled further back. "Master, it is a child! What should we do?"_

"_What else, we take her back with us," he answered without any hesitation. _

"_But, master," the man argued, "she may look healthy but what if she carries the disease that must have killed her parents? Then this plague will reach our doorsteps."_

"_Fool!" The gruff man barked making me jump more. I was already scared and this angry man wasn't helping by yelling. "If we leave now this face shall hunt us for the rest of our lives!" He walked over to my hiding spot and got eye leave with me. He was old, long white beard and hair to match with a very unfriendly face that matched his voice. But there was something else about this man that I didn't like; the air around him was…different, unlike any I had met. Years later I would learn it was because he wasn't human. He extended his hand to me and said, "Come child let us take you to a new home."_

_I didn't want to go with him because of the feeling I got. So I crawled further back until my back hit the wall._

"_Master," the woman's voice said, "if may be so blunt…"_

"_Go on."_

"_You're not a person that children would flock to. Your face isn't very approachable."_

_The older man scoffed, "Then you try."_

"_Very well." The gruff man moved out of the way and the woman took his place. She certainly looked more kind but she felt different too, not like the other one though. Like the first one, she too wore a hood but a few locks of gray hair fell to her shoulders. And then there were her eyes, they were an unnatural shade of yellow. Her hand was out as she smiled warmly at me. "Don't worry little one, I shall not harm you." There was gentleness in her voice, something I wasn't accustomed to hearing. I was drawn to it._

_Hesitantly I reached for her hand and my new life began._

/

"-up. Wake up Rhona!" A voice called out.

Something was shaking her shoulder and slowly her eyes began to open. Only she woke up to Ghost right in her face. It startled her and out of instinct she swung at him. The phantom barely dodged her punch but fell to the ground.

She sat up and was momentarily confused as to where she was until she remembered that she was in the hideout. She must have fallen asleep on some crates. _Why was I dreaming about that day? _ She wondered as she ran her hand though her short blond hair. It had been a long time since she thought about it.

"I know nobody likes a rude awaking but did you really have to try and hit me?" Ghost asked form the floor.

"Don't get in my face next time," Rhona told him as she stretched she stiff limps.

A chuckling sound came from the other side of the room. It was Ralik, sitting on a box sharpening his knives. His hood was down to reveal wolf ears poking out of a mess of black hair. "I told you Ghost, she bites."

Scowling at the laguz, Rhona's hand found a sharpening stone and chucked it at his head. It knocked him over and made a nice thud sound as the stone hit his head, which she assumed it was because his head was half empty. "Bitch," he mumbled as got up rubbing his head.

Ignoring him, Rhona turned back to Ghost. "Is something going on?" She asked wondering why he did wake her up.

"Nyoka's coming. I thought it best you be awake before he arrived."

That was the last thing she needed, Nyoka getting on her for sleeping on the job. She already was on his bad list. "Thanks," she whispered so not to let the dog hear and helped him to his feet.

It wasn't long after when Nyoka walked in. The way he carried himself was the same as always; egotistical and presumptuous. "Security sure is tight around here thanks to a _certain_ someone's actions yesterday." He glared at the dog. Ralik growled at Nyoka but had no comeback. Paying no mind to him he turned his attention to the heron. "Any news on Kyle?"

"His arrow flew straight into Duoqun's heart. It will take some time for him to enter the city as you said so he's lying low for the time being," Ghost informed them.

"At least some people know how to do that, instead of charging in without a plan to the lion's den," Rhona said out loud aiming it directly at the dog.

"I had a plan," Ralik argued.

"Going in fast before the guards know what happened," Ghost and Rhona said at the same time. It certainly shouldn't be called a plan, suicide plan maybe.

"Now that Ralik has pulled his little stunt we'll have to move quicker before the enemy has a chance to know we're on to them and retaliate," Nyoka informed them. "So Rhona you're up next." She hopped down from the box and was just about to leave when he added, "Ralik will be your second should you mess up."

"What?" Both Rhona and Ralik cried out which caused both of them to give the other death looks.

"Look Nyoka, I don't care if you are in charge of this mission, I don't babysit," Ralik snarled.

"For once the dog and I agree on something," she said but it left a really bad taste in her mouth to admit it. "I'm not some damn rookie who needs looking after," she argued.

Nyoka stroked to stubble on his chin and said oh so calmly that Rhona wanted to punch his face in, "If I recall correctly your last target got away."

"That was over two years ago!" She yelled at him. Rhona couldn't believe he was _still _holding that over her. "Unlike some people I wasn't sitting on my ass during the war. I've been hard at work training."

"Better to be safe then regretful. The two of you will do as I had instructed, _or else,_" he said just before he left.

Rhona stood there, fist and teeth clenched, shaking with anger. Oh how she would love to hit someone right now, presumably Nyoka; in fact it took every fiber in her being and every ounce of self-control to keep her feet planted to the ground and not running Nyoka. It was no wonder Ralik hated the guy. Ralik didn't look happy about this either, in fact he looked more pissed off than normal. She stomped to the door but just before she opened it she turned and pointed to Ralik. "If I so much as catch a glimpse of you anywhere near my target I swear I'll prevent you from ever reproducing!" She barked then slammed the door behind her hoping to release even just the tiniest bit of her anger that was being held. Nyoka's "_or else" _were horrible but Rhona was willing to take that chance if it meant some redemption from her mistake two years ago.

"So what are you going to do?" Rhona could hear a muffled Ghost ask Ralik from behind the door.

She assumed Ralik was thinking which was hard for her to believe since that seemed to be the last thing he ever did. "It all depends on who I'm more afraid of, Nyoka's punishments or Rhona's fists," he said weighing the odds of how much he'd get hurt.

There was a brief pause before both of them answered together, "Rhona's fists."

_Damn straight!_

/

The next evening the mercenaries reached Tarreftnom and decided to stay the night. Tarreftnom was a pretty big town and everyone was anxious to go their own way. After Ike told them where to meet back at and to be ready to leave at first light he let everyone go; they all scattered like wild fire. Yet only Leila lingered with Ike and Soren; she had the look like she wanted to ask something but she seemed to be struggling to find the words as she sifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Do you have something you want to say?" Ike asked to help her out a bit.

She considered it for a moment and then nodded. Leila walked right past him to Soren. "How come back in Caldea you stopped me from telling them that I was one of the branded? They now think I'm a spirit charmer! Clearly I'm not."

Both of them were surprised by her bluntness. Soren looked around them to see if anyone heard her. "Are you seriously asking that?" He hissed.

"Well I want to know," she wined. "As a fellow branded don't you hate being mistaken as spirit charmer as well?"

Soren looked general surprised, probably since Leila figured out they were the same. But his normal look returned. "It's to be consider a blessing for such a mistake since garbage is treated better than the branded. What world did you come from?"

"Lynn," she answered him but she obviously taken aback by Soren's harsh tone as she stared at her feet. "Well there aren't many there but we're all treated like everyone else."

"Well you need to wake up because the rest of the world doesn't work like that! If you keep up with that thought then you'll only-"

"Soren!" Ike interrupted.

"But this is something she needs to know or else she'll cause problems for the-"

"Later," Ike told him. He looked back at Leila to see her looking gloomier than ever, he thought she might cry. That look certainly didn't suit her. "Leila why don't you go with Mist, I'm sure she could use some help with her errands," he suggested.

Her face brightened as she ran to catch up to her.

"She's in for a rude awakening if she thinks the world is like the one in her head," Soren said darkly.

Ike had become to the way his young friend thinks about the world, maybe because Soren was forced to grow up sooner than most do. Was the reason he was giving Leila such a hard time because he felt she should grow up? Or…was he jealous? "Maybe, but we shouldn't be the ones to wake her. This is really something she needs to find out on her own."

/

"Have you two ever been here before?" Leila asked Mist and Rolf shortly after she caught up.

"Nope, this is our first time like yours," Mist told her. Tarreftnom wasn't nearly as big as any of the capital they had been to but it was still a lot of things to do and see. It was also a good place to for Mist to get some good material to do patch work, which was the one thing she couldn't get back in Caldea.

Rolf just wanted to tag along with her, at the moment he and Boyd were in a bit of a disagreement. It was something about whether skill was more important than brutal strength. No one was really paying any mind to their sibling squabble, even Oscar was staying out of this one. Thankfully Rolf wasn't going on and on about it like Boyd was. Anytime he brought up one of his and Rolfs stupid arguments she just wanted to hit him over his head with a stick.

She was really glade Leila came along; it wasn't everyday Mist got to be around girls her own age.

"So what's Lynn like?" Rolf asked. Mist was also curious. The only thing she knew was how they mourned and frankly she wanted to know something a little more cheerful.

Leila seems to give this question serious thought as her brow furrowed, Mist worried she'd hurt herself. "Well…" she started, "if I could compare it would probably to Caldea. Although there aren't as many farmers but I do think we grow our own food. There are a lot of animals we raise. Also there aren't a lot of trees, just mountains and hills."

"Maybe we'll come and visit you one of these days," Mist had suggested. "It sounds beautiful with all the mountains."

Leila's eyes beamed at her, "Really?"

"Well of course, we're friends right?"

"We are?" Leila started to giggle. "Yes. I'm so happy! I've never had a friend before!"

"You didn't have any friends in Lynn?" Rolf asked.

Shaking her head she said, "A lot of other kids think I'm a little strange."

"I can't imagine why they would think that," Rolf said sarcastically which caused Mist to jab him in the ribs.

Mist walked over to Leila, who didn't get the sarcasm thankfully, and wrap her arms around her shoulder. "We've met a lot who were stranger than you. I thank you'll fit in fine."

She smiled, "Ryu always told me that mercenaries were nothing but money-grubbing sell-swords that had no morals. But you all are nothing like that; you're actually really nice,"

Both Mist and Rolf gave her the 'I can't believe she just said that look'. Sure, mercenaries had a bad reputation but they didn't actually think she'd say it as if it was nothing. But again it was Leila so Mist just asked, "Whose Ryu?"

"Oh I didn't tell you? He's my older brother."

"I didn't know you had a brother. Do you have any other siblings?" Rolf asked.

"Nope; just me, daddy, and Ryu!" She answered. Then she huffed, "But he and I are as different as night and day. I wouldn't think he was my brother if daddy didn't call him son. He's _way_ too serious and a complete workaholic."

This was the angriest they had ever heard Leila. It was a little unsettling so Rolf changed the subject. "Come on, we should probably get the things you needed before all the shops are closed."

Mist had almost completely forgotten about that so they hurried to the general store and arrived just in time. The owner let them in but only for a short time. So Mist very carefully ran in, asked the merchant to cut some material and grabbed some thread before checking out.

Now they were heading to the inn Ike had told them to meet back at. It was now dusk and things were starting to get rowdy. More and more people were at the taverns and Mist was pretty sure most of their own were there.

"What's going on over there?" Leila pointed over by the entrance of one of the bars. There were five broad men, mercenaries by the looks of them, who were poking fun at a disabled man. He was a crippled, Mist could tell by the way his leg was bent in directions it shouldn't. These guys were mocking him and one even took his crutch right from under him causing him to fall. They laughed and hooted even harder at that. Mist felt sick to her stomach watching it.

"They're just a bunch of bullies Leila," Rolf said trying to urge his female companions on. Mist wanted to help the man but they weren't strong enough and they were outnumbered.

"Let's just-" Mist didn't get to finish because Leila was gone again; and she was heading for the mercenaries!"

They tried to call her back but they were too late. "Excuse me," they heard her say to get the men's attention. The mercenaries looked down at her like she was a tiny bug and they were debating whether or not to step on her. "Could you please stop bothering this man?" She asked them kindly.

These mercenaries began laughing at her now. "Look boys!" the one in front said. "She's asking us to leave this poor sap alone." He was probably their leader and turned his full attention to her. "Look girly, you need to learn to keep your nose out of other people's business. So scram before we make you."

He moved to shove her away but what Leile did surprised Mist. She had sidestepped around him and as his arm extended she jab the man's forearm twice with two fingers that caused it to go limp by his side. The leader looked at his arm and from his face you could see he was trying to move it. "Wh…what did you do to me?"

Leila gasp, apparently realizing now what she had done. "I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean to do that. My body i-it just reacted!"

That explanation didn't seem to satisfy him because the leader swung at her with his good arm but she again circumnavigated around him and jabbed him in the center of his back. A groan escaped his mouth when he hit the ground hard. The rest of the mercenaries stared at their boss down and out, bested by a little girl.

Another one charged for her. He began throwing punches but Leila gracefully dodged them all. She was like a whole other person. Her eyes were focused and she moved like she had been for years. Could this really be the same Leila?

"What do we do Mist?" Rolf asked sounding really worried.

She didn't know. These guys obviously wouldn't hesitate to hurt Leila since they were attacking her and were just a minute ago were humiliating a cripple. So she took off running to the one person she believed could fix anything. "I'm going to find Ike; you stay here and make sure nothing happens to her!"

/

"So if we leave first thing in the morning we'll make it to Melior two days before the ceremony," Titania analyzed as she looked at the map. She, Ike, and Soren were getting everything ready so they could leave without any problems in the inns lobby.

Ike let out a breath. "I would have liked if we could have gotten there sooner but I guess that couldn't be helped." If they hadn't stopped to help those villagers with their bandit problem they wouldn't have met Leila. Ike didn't want to think what could have happened to her it they hadn't shown up when they did.

"As long as don't run into anymore problems we should arrive on time to do the job we're being paid for," Soren commented.

Titania was folding their map up when from outside the inn's lobby they heard someone shouting Ike's name. And this someone sounded a lot like Mist. What worried him was how urgent she sounded which caused him to run out. He nearly ran into her when he opened the door. She was out of breath and wore a bewildered look on her face. "Mist, what's going on?"

"I'm not sure but this group of mercenaries was picking on this guy and Leila asked them to stop but they didn't and now they're all fighting," she said in one breath.

Most of it Ike didn't understand but he did pick up the words "Leila" and "fighting"; two words that shouldn't be in the same sentence. "Okay Mist, just take us to were this happened." He'd just figure it out when he got there.

She nodded and hurried back the way she came. Just as they were about to follow her Soren said, "This is one of the problems I was talking about."

"Not now Soren!" Ike hissed as he hurried after Mist.

Soon she lead them to the entrance of a tavern where there seemed to have been indeed a fight. The ground had been shifted around from footwork and some of the nearby food stands were wrecked. Ike could just picture a big guy falling of one of them. Then there were the people who had gathered around and from their looks there was indeed some action that happened. But there wasn't one now and no Leila.

"Mist, are you sure you didn't just imagine what you said happen?" Ike asked her, really hoping this wasn't some goose chase.

"This isn't a joke!" She yelled at him angrily, upset that he would even consider she would kid about something so serious. "Look. Those were the guys Leila was fighting when I left," Mist pointed to the five guys who were lying on the ground. That's when Ike noticed the healers that were tending to them and that a few of the Royal Knights were here. But where was Leila? He didn't see her anywhere.

But he did spot a familiar patch of light green hair weaving through the crowd. "Mist, do you see Leila anywhere?" Rolf asked when he finally reached them.

"Rolf! You were supposed to keep your eye on her!" Mist scolded him.

"I tried," he defended in his innocent voice in order to get a little bit of sympathy. "But the crowd got bigger and people started shoving me out of the way!"

"Both of you cut it out and start looking for Leila," Titania ordered the two of them.

They both ended their bickering but before any of them could start searching another familiar voice called out to Ike. "That's you, isn't Ike?"

He turned to see the blue haired knight, Geoffrey, standing over the threshold of the tavern. It seemed like such a long time ago that Ike had seen the knight but in reality it hadn't.

"Didn't expect to see you here," Ike told him. He would have thought that all knights would be at the capital.

Geoffrey nodded like he knew what Ike meant but his attention turned instantly to the crowd. "I told you all, it's over so go home!" But all of them just swatted his comment away like they would a fly. Geoffrey groaned as he turned his attention back to them. "First people are dancing in the streets because a tax collector is dead and now there's a fight between a little girl and grown men. These people are going crazy!"

"A little girl was in a fight," Ike said out loud thinking it might be Leila.

"Yeah," Geoffrey nodded and then pointed to the injured men. "I'm not sure what's wrong with them. Our healers say they're fine but for whatever reason they can't seem to move. We arrived seeing this little girl standing over them like they are. According to them she attacked first. Honestly, I don't believe it for a minute but I don't know what else to do."

"She did not!" Mist declared causing everyone to jump at her sudden loudness.

"Look Geoffrey, dose this girl have short dark hair and a strange mark on her forehead?" Ike asked seeing the knight's questioning look.

"Y-yeah that sounds like her," Geoffrey answered. "She's in our custody right now."

Mist and Rolf gasped when he said that while Soren just groaned about how this was an unnecessary distraction their company didn't need. Ike and Titania weren't too worried because surly Geoffrey wouldn't arrest a little girl. But Ike did wonder how much trouble Leila could get in. "Well, that girl, Leila, she's been traveling with us. So is there any way you could release her, we're in a bit of a hurry." Ike informed him.

"Of course. We're not going arrest her or nothing; we're just holding until we find her parents. But I guess they're not here."

Ike shook his head and Geoffrey motioned them into the tavern. The bar had been cleared out with only a few knights and Leila sitting at one of the tables chatting away as if she hadn't just beaten up five grown men. Leila wore a serious look as she listened intently to one of the knight's stories about their experience in the Mad-King's War.

Leila soon noticed them and looked at them meekly. "I-I swear I didn't use my powers!" She blurted out. Obviously she thought they were angry at her. Soren might have been but Ike was just glad she was safe as was everyone else.

"I'm sure you didn't," Ike said as he patted her head. He could feel her body relax from under his hand.

"I…I really don't want to cause any of you any trouble," she said softly.

Ike sighed, he knew what Soren had said earlier was bothering.

"Well miss, you're free to go. Just stay out of trouble, alright?" Geoffrey told her.

"Alright," she smiled at him and then jumped from her chair.

They were all about to leave when Geoffrey asked them one more thing. "You all aren't going to the capital to help guard the over the ceremony, right?"

"That's right," Ike told him.

"Good, I guess if you're there I won't have to worry as much," Geoffrey said with a sigh of relief. "Still," he added looking more somber, "I would much rather be there but we're stuck here until we find a killer."

"You did mention something about a tax collector being dead," Titania commented.

"Yeah, he's name was Duoqun Luba, found dead in the middle of the street with an arrow though his chest," Geoffrey explained.

"Did he have any enemies?" Ike asked.

The knight narrowed his eyes at Ike. "He was a _tax collector_," he said plainly. "He had more enemies than I care to question."

"But how many can shot an arrow."

"That's true but we can't even find were the assailant shoot from let alone how skilled they are."

"I think a few of ours may be able to figure it out," Titania suggested, implying Shinon and Soren.

_But that would all depend if one is sober and the other one is in a cooperative mood._ Ike thought. And the two certainly did not like working together

"Are you offering to help us?" Geoffrey asked.

"I guess we are," Ike replied.

"We can't," Soren injected. "We're already late. There needs to be no more interruptions!" He repeated from his earlier speech. It was easy to tell he was tired of repeating himself.

"Then I'll just send half of our group to go on to the capital and the rest will remain here to help the knights so they can return to the city. You have to admit that if the ceremony is attacked our chances are better if the rest of the knights are there," Ike suggested using logic Soren would have come up with. He could tell his friend was considering the option so Ike added, "Regardless, the ones that remain here will leave the morning after. That way we'll all at least be there on time."

There was a brief pause before Soren just turned and left. With a sigh he said, "I'll go on and make the teams then." And he was gone. In all honesty Soren probably wanted any excuse to leave,

* * *

"_Not directly, no, but it is me who paints the targets are their backs. So in a way, yes I have killed people."_

"_You've got to be kidding me! If what you say is true then our guy is probably halfway to Melior by now!" _

"_Boss, what do we do? She doesn't remember!"_


	4. Chapter 3

I'm a little disappointed in this chapter. I've been trying to put more detail in my stories and I'm not sure how I did with that, I know it probably wasn't enough. Feedback be much appreciated.

Also, it may take me three weeks to write the next chapter. Reasons you'll see soon, I want it to be epic. It may take only two but lets go with three to be safe.

* * *

Chapter 3

_Compassion to all. That was what the priest in Begnion always taught their congregation. But apparently all only meant beorcs. It was no secret that the laguz slave trade was still in business under the table. Some just ignored it but one priest refused to be a hypocrite to what he preached. He taught that compassion should be extended to laguz and that all of us were equal under the goddess. As one can imagine this didn't sit well with other pastors and once this spread to the senate the priest was excommunicated. He didn't go alone, two other priest and a cleric followed him. His name was Father Abner._

_But I guess I should be grateful that he was excommunicated because if he hadn't I would never had a home. Father Abner and the rest of the priest settled on the boarder of Begnion and gave seven kids a place to call home. _

_The orphanage I had been raised in had kicked me out when I turned ten; to them older boys were too much trouble to take care of. Father Abner took me in and I became indebted to him. He turned no one away; not children or weary travelers. We didn't have much but we knew the goddess would provide. _

_We grew our own food but sometimes that wasn't enough. Since the priest swore a life of no violence I took it upon myself to hunt since I was the oldest out all the other children. I was fairly good with a bow so each day I went out to the forest to catch some food. _

_One day when I hadn't spotted any sign of game I was just about to head back when I spotted a large bird flying far above him. Judging from the distance and its size I thought it was possibly the biggest fowl I had ever hunted. It would surly feed everyone. With that in mind I loaded my bow, aimed to adjust for the wind change and distance, and fired. My stomach tied itself into a knot when I realized I only hit its wing as I watched it fall. That meant I would have to see it squirm before I put it out of its misery. _

_Only it wasn't a bird I had shot but a laguz. As I had rushed to where my catch had fallen I saw an unconscious man with an arrow that was embedded into his black wing and shoulder. He was clade in white clothes that was now stained with the blood I had caused and had dark blond hair. _

_I didn't hesitate; I quickly picked up the laguz and put him over my shoulder so I could take him to Sister Keyah so she could heal him. The laguz was surprisingly light and once I saw the front of his wings I noticed his white feathers and realized he was a heron. I had thought they were all gone which only gave haste to my speed, I certainly didn't want to be the one that killed the last of the heron laguz._

_Sister Keyah was able to treat the laguz's injury the only thing was it would be some time until he was able to attempt to fly. He stayed unconscious for a whole day. When he did awake, Father Abner came to me and said the laguz wanted to see me. _

_Nervous was the only thing I felt when I was walking to the laguz's room, was he going to be angry at me for shooting him? He had every right to be mad at me. But anger was the last thing I found on the heron's face, he looked…amused when I walked in._

"_So you're the one that shot me," he said to himself with a smile._

"_Yes sir," I told him. I stole a glance to Father Abner who had taken a seat in the corner. _

"_Sir?" The laguz chuckled at that. "My, you all are the strangest group of beorcs I've run into in Begnion. Yes I think you all will do fine."_

And he is possibly the strangest person I have ever met, _I thought. "What do you mean "we'll do fine"?" I asked him._

"_Oh yes, how rude of me. You can call me Ghost, I'm from a village called Lynn," the heron informed me which I thought it was weird for someone to be named Ghost. "We're always in need of priest and healers, not to mention someone with your skill." Ghost leaned closer to me and said, "You are too good with a bow to waste it on hunting animals."_

"_You want him to join an army, don't you?" Father Abner chimed in. _

_Ghost nodded. That would mean he wanted me to possibly kill someone. I hated hunting and I wouldn't if it wasn't for the fact I had to take care of the other kids. How could I spill a person's blood? "I can't, animals are one thing…I don't think I could bring myself to hurting someone." Then I realized how much of a hypocrite I sounded like after I had just shot the laguz in front of me. _

_But he made no comment about that but said, "People aren't so different from animals when you think about it. Look at me," he gestured to his uninjured wing._

_I thought about what he said and though it may be true but I still didn't know what to do. "Have you ever killed anyone?" I asked him._

"_Not directly, no, but it is me who paints the targets are their backs. So in a way, yes I have killed people." I still wasn't convinced and so Ghost added. "I may not be religious but I believe if someone kills another to protect others then it's not considered a sin. _

_Doing a job so no one else has to. "So if I agree what's going to happen to everyone else?" I asked wondering about the other kids._

"_They'll be taken care of; you all can continue to live together if you wish if you all decide to come to Lynn with me."_

_I looked back to Father Abner to see how he was taking all this. He shook his head, "This is your decision Kyle. Only you can decide what you want to do with your life." He said that but I could tell he wanted to go, to have another chance to preach was what he had always wanted. They could have a better life with Father Abner preaching and the others healing in Lynn. The kids wouldn't have to go hungry. I would be the most selfish person ever if I denied them of that only because I didn't want to kill people._

"_I'm in," I announced. Both Father Abner and Ghost smiled at my decision. "You can call me Kyle," I told Ghost as held my hand out to him._

_Ghost shook it and said, "Well Kyle, I look forward to working with you."_

_/_

Kyle began to open his heavy eyes to the sounds of by passers going about their business entering and exiting the Melior. He was on the outskirts of the capital's walls and had fallen asleep under a tree by the side of the road. Since he was sure the knights were now looking for someone with the bow that killed Duoqun Luba he hid his gear up in the tree so he looked like a homeless person. Sure enough when he looked down at his boots he saw a few gold coins.

He made a mental note to find an actual homeless person and give the money to them. He really had no need for it. Everyone under Father Abner's care always had more than enough food. Life was good in Lynn; Father Abner says that it was the goddess that guided his arrow to Ghost thus providing for them. Kyle no longer mined the jobs he was given if it meant Father Abner and the others were taken care of. But he was seriously going to make Ralik hurt for all these precautions he now had to take. The news about the assassin that killed Djam had spread like rushing water. Why the hell did Nyoka let Ralik go first, he had to know the laguz was going to do something like that? All this was just making everyone else's job all the more harder.

"It certainly is sad to see someone with nothing to do," a familiar voice said from behind the tree.

Kyle knew it was the phantom but looked to his side to see the laguz leading against the tree. He was truly deserving of the name Ghost, to this day Kyle still didn't know who he moved so silently. "Not true. I'd say staying out of trouble is a profession." Ghost was silent and Kyle had known him for about ten years now and knew the laguz wasn't here to see how he was fairing. Ghost needed him to do something. "What's going on?"

"It's Colin's turn," he said in a low tone so no one else could hear.

_The rookie? _He could understand why Ghost was at unease about it but he heard about Colin, he was the best of his class. "What about him?" He asked as two guards walked past them. They were quiet and looked at nothing in particular till the knights past.

"I don't know. I just have a bad feeling about tonight," Ghost told them.

"Feathers tingling again," Kyle grinned. It's what everyone said when the phantom said he had a "bad feeling". But they were mostly right.

"I'm serious!" He barked.

The archer sighed, "So I guess you want me to be there in case things go south." Nyoka was going to Colin's second; the rookies always had seconds on their first job. This must be some "bad feeling" Ghost had if he was asking him to be a third which was almost unheard of. Another group of people were walking down the path so Kyle temporarily changed the subject. "Rhona find her man?"

"Yes, met him with a loving embrace, which is good cause if she didn't her and Railk both would be in trouble with Nyoka," Ghost said casually.

_Great, _Kyle thought. Two murders in one city; now it would be even more difficult to get in unnoticed. Everyone would be on high alert. At least Rhona was stealthy about her target. With the people gone he said to Ghost, "I'll get in as soon as I can."

"Hospitalier Fortress," the laguz said simply as he walked away. "See you then."

/

Some of the mercenaries weren't too thrilled to learn about the new plans. Soren had selected Rhys, Rolf, Mia, Oscar, and Gatrie to go on to the capital with Titania in charge. By first light they had already left.

Shinon wasn't happy about the extra work he would have to do plus having to work with Soren on this until Ike said he'd get extra pay. That shut him up for a while. But while they were out looking for a murderer Mist was left behind with Leila. "Keep Leila out of trouble," her brother told to her before he joined Geoffrey with the search.

It did seem that if anyone took their eyes off the girl for even a second she was getting herself into something. Leila said she didn't know how to sew and that her friend Anna had tried to teach her but soon gave up on it. So since Leila didn't know how to Mist took it upon herself to teach the girl. Grabbing two pieces of scrap fabric Mist instructed Leila to watch what she was doing. She started it out and put a few stitch in them before handing it on to Leila. She didn't look too sure about it as she looked at the needle like Mist had just handed her a dagger.

Slowly she began to pierce the fabric with the needle and then pulled the string all the way though. She looked confused as what to do next but somehow managed to pull the needle back up through the material. Leila became more confident the more she used the needle; only she was holding it all wrong. At that rate she was going to prick herself and just when Mist was about to warn her about it when she did just that.

"Ow!" She cried as she jerked her hand back from underneath the fabric. A small bead of blood appeared on her index finger. It wasn't a big deal until Leila's face turn pale white and her eyes wide with horror. Her whole arm began shaking as a whimpering sound escaped quivering mouth. "G-get it off me!" She shrieked.

Mist was so terrified by her friend's reaction that it took a moment in her brain to realize she needed to do something to help her. Very quickly Mist threw what Leila had been sewing over her whole hand. Slowly, Leila began to breathe easier and to actually blink.

Keeping her hands firmly on the fabric so she wouldn't have another attack, Mist said, "You're afraid of blood, aren't you?"

Leila looked embarrassed and didn't look her directly in the eye. "I…I just don't like it when it gets on me." That certainly wasn't a reaction you do when you don't like something, that was the face of pure fear she had.

"Is there a reason you don't like blood?" Mist asked. For most phobias there was a reason a person had them. She wondered if something happened to Leila to make her this way. Then again there might not be.

Still, Leila didn't look Mist in the eye. "I don't remember."

She knew Leila wasn't telling her the truth which was weird since she had been so blunt ever since they met her. But then again everyone probably has something they want to keep to themselves. Now Mist knew why Leila's friend gave up on teaching her. So they quite sew and just stuck with playing a card game.

/

After about an hour searching and some swearing, Ike and everyone else ended up in an old watch tower that hadn't been in use for over thirty years. From the information Geoffrey told them about, the direction the arrow entered Duoqun Luba and how windy it was, Shinon concluded this was where the assassin shot from. But Ike was having his doubts about that. He was no archer but even he could tell that what Shinon was suggesting was an impossible shot. The tower was several yards from where Duoqun's body was with buildings all around allowing only a small window of opportunity to shoot even if they were high above the ground. Then there were all the trees making it even smaller opportunity.

Shinon was perched at the window that looked out into the streets below. He imitated what he imagined that assassin would have done; he drew his empty bow string and aimed. After a while he informed them that this was where the arrow was shot from.

No one was convinced. "Are you sure?" Geoffrey asked. "This seems like a near impossible shot."

The archer let out an annoyed breath. "I could make that shot. So I would say this guy's _almost_ as good as me."

This guy had to be good if Shinon was using himself as a reference.

"Then there are two possibilities," Soren concluded. "One, our killer was just so arrogant in their own skill that they decided to take their frustration on the tax collector. Or this was premeditated. If that's the case the odds are that the killer is long gone by now. Have there been any other people killed lately?" He asked the knight.

"I just received a letter from Lucia this morning. She said that Djam was killed during an execution by a mysterious man," Geoffrey answered.

"That can't just be a coincidence," Ike said out loud.

"I concur. The best bet would be that the person we're looking for is long gone by now," Soren concluded.

"You've got to be kidding me! If what you say is true then our guy is probably halfway to Melior by now!" Geoffrey ran his hand over his face in frustration. "That means we've wasted all this time."

"Probably what he wanted," Shinon chimed in which caused everyone to stare at him.

"What do mean?" Boyd asked what everyone was thinking.

A groan escaped Shinon. "Do I have to explain everything to you whelps?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Whether I like to admit it or not this guy's smart. He wouldn't leave town right away 'cause then it'd be obvious. No, he'd wait for a time then make his way out of the city. That way he has everyone thinking he's still here and not chasing after him."

"That's a rather perceptive observation coming from you," Soren said plainly but Ike could hear the mocking tone in his voice.

Obviously Shinon heard it too as he glared at the young strategist with daggers. On the outside they just seemed like two guys that disliked each other but on the inside they probably wanted the other dead. Ike just sighed; those two could become an unstoppable force if they could learn to at _least_ tolerate each other.

Geoffrey's voice brought Ike to the situation they were in. "Ike, go on to Melior. My men and I are just going to do a quick search and then we'll be there ourselves."

"Very well," Ike said, "we'll leave right away."

/

They had gone to retrieve Leila and Mist before they took off but Ike was worried about Leila since she looked so pale. But she said she was fine as did Mist so he dropped the matter for now. At least she wasn't getting herself in trouble again.

By now it was well into the afternoon as they traveled the main road to Melior. The weather was fair and there weren't hardly any people; in Ike's opinion, the best time to travel. If they continued at the pace they were going they should reach the city late the following morning. But he soon lost that idea when he saw the backs of the people he had hoped never wanted to see again.

He saw them as soon as they came up a small hill; the people who had told them to heal Leila. The bandits they encountered almost a week ago. They didn't seem to notice the mercenaries yet as they were heading into the forest. There was the hooded guy, the woman, the big guy, and the mace carrier. But wasn't there another one? Ike searched all his memories of that day until he remembered; there was a teen with them. Where was he? Was he somewhere nearby watching them or was he somewhere else entirely?

Everyone else quickly noticed them and they all looked to Ike. None of them wanted to fight these guys, he certainly didn't. So he motioned them to go on. Maybe if they walked by casually they might not notice.

Whether or not that would have worked Ike would never know, because Leila ran out to them. None of them could have stopped her in time before she called out to them as if nothing was wrong, "Hi Captain Natsu!"

All four of them froze in their tracks. Very slowly each of them turned looking like at Leila like she was a ghost. It was the red headed woman who found her voice first. "Le-Leila!" She stuttered. "Wh-why are you here?"

Leila smiled, "I was about to ask you all the same thing? Are you all on a big job right now?"

"You don't remember…do you?" The hood man said sounding both sad and disappointed. Ike just didn't know what to think of all this. Just what was going on? Perhaps he would find out.

The mercenaries surrounded Leila, Ike placed himself in-between her and the bandits. His hand was gripped on his sword, ready for whatever may transpire in the next few seconds. Mist came beside her and said, "Leila, they're the ones who were holding you captive."

"What?" Leila looked at Mist with confusion. "That can't be right," she said as she turned back to the mysterious group. "There has to be a good reason I was with you all…and…being hurt…right…Captain Natsu?" She didn't sound too sure herself after she said it. But in her eyes Ike could see a tiny bit of hope. She knew them and seems to hold them in high regard; for her sake he hoped they wouldn't have to fight them, that this was all just some misunderstanding.

The hooded guy whose name must have been Natsu averted his hidden gaze from her and didn't give an answer.

The mace wielder looked to Natsu. "Boss, what do we do? She doesn't remember!" He sounded more panicked, why were they so worried?

Natsu clutched his chest as if he were in pain, and then stood tall apparently coming to a decision. "We do what were sighed up ta do." Then in a blink Natsu darted right toward Ike. He jumped high and was aiming to kick Ike square in the chest.

Luckily Ike brought his sword up to deflect his hit but the kick vibrated painfully though Ike's whole being. So Natsu kicked off the blade that caused Ike to stager some; for a skinny guy he sure had strength behind his attacks. The hooded man landed gracefully a few feet away. Ike risked a glanced back to Leila. She looked as if Natsu had kicked her directly.

"All of you be careful," the red headed woman announced to her group. "If you get hurt I can't guaranteed I can heal any of you properly in a fight."

"Don't lie Talitha," the mace wielder sneered. "You can't heal a scratch under normal circumstance."

She narrowed her eyes at the fighter then with a snap of her fingers flames appeared under his feet. He yelped and jumped a safe distance away but still did a little dance to smolder the fire that was still on his boots. "Borka, you'll remember to keep you big mouth shut."

"Both of you get serious!" Natsu barked at them. Then he turned to the big guy behind him. "Izzu, you know what ta do; just don't squash 'er like last time."

"'Kay boss," he said with a great bass voice. Izzu ran at them, very slow at first but soon gained momentum. Like Natsu, he carried no weapons but Ike doubted he the same moves as him. Was he planning to run them over? If he did it would be effective; this Izzu guy was about six feet tall and probably weighed three hundred pounds of raw muscle. None of the mercenaries wanted to find out so they all jumped and rolled out of his way. At the spot where they had all been standing moments ago, Izzu stuck at the earth with his bare fist causing rocks to fly into the air and dust to engulf him. When all was settled Izzu was standing in a small crater about the size of a wagon. All of them stared with disbelief at this man's strength. "I missed?" Izzu asked himself as he examined his hand, obviously surprised he didn't crush them.

But Natsu's group wasn't fazed by this at all. Instead Borka shouted, "We can see that ya big dummy! Now start fighting them!"

"'Kay," Izzu said simply and looked at Boyd.

"Why you looking at me for?" Boyd asked him nervously. Izzu merely attempted to squash him like a bug, but Boyd managed to avoid the hit which was good because there were now deep hole in the ground. Izzu may have been slow in the head and body but because of his overwhelming strength that made him extremely dangerous. "Ike!" Boyd yelled not trying to mask all the worry he was feeling. "How's 'bout we get the hell out of here!"

"Don't have to ask me twice!" Ike said. These guys were in a whole other class then them. Maybe if the rest of the company were here then they could overwhelm them. _Why did I send half our people on ahead?_ He wondered starting to regret his idea._ I should have known we'd run into them again. _ Ike grabbed Leila by the arm but she wasn't moving, eyes almost lifeless; she must be in shock. He could have easily dragged or carry her but right now he needed her fully alert. "We have to go," he said to her with all the urgency in his voice.

"But…but none of this makes any sense…" She said quivering voice. "Why, why would Captain Natsu-"

"We'll figure it out later, but we need to get the heck out of here first," Ike told her.

She nodded but none of them had even taken five steps before the woman named Talitha spoke. "I'm sorry Leila, but we can't let you go this time." With the wave of her hand their only escape route had erupted into giant wall of fire. It hissed at them when they came near, it was as though the barrier were alive. Now there only way out and was though the forest which they would have to go through their opponents first. It would seem they had no choice but to fight.

"That woman…she's a spirit charmer," Soren pronounced.

"It's just one thing after another with these freaks!" Shinon yelled as he prepared his bow.

Ike could see Natsu's mouth frown but it wasn't at Shinon but at the angry flames. "You just had ta summon that thing, didn't you Talitha?" He said to her with a sigh.

"I had to. Just in case," she admitted.

_In case of what? _Ike wondered. He didn't get much time to do that since he had to deal with Natsu again. Ike was so consumed in his fight that he didn't have the luxury to see how everyone else was holding up. He was pretty sure Boyd was still being chased by the big guy, he saw Shinon and Talitha exchange long-ranged attacks a few times, and once he noticed that Soren was using his wind magic to keep Borka at bay. Then there was Mist and Leila, both stood a safe distance from the fighting. Ike had ordered her not to heal anyone since these guys probably wouldn't hesitate to hurt her. But these guys weren't even getting anywhere near Mist and if Ike had to guess it was because Leila was with her, they didn't want to harm her, so in a way it was really Leila who was protecting Mist. "Don't hurt him!" Leila shouted at Ike, like he had a choice.

Another thing that Ike was starting to notice was that Natsu was pulling his punches. Ike was having a hard time fighting because this was the first time he had ever hand to face someone who was this good at hand to hand combat. Ike couldn't even land a single blow on the guy; he evaded every one of his slashes and stabs while Natsu used him as a punching bag. He could feel bruises forming on his ribcage and arms yet each time Natsu attacked Ike could feel there was more power to them yet his opponent wasn't using it. Was he just toying with him or…did he want them to win? And was the rest of his group doing the same.

He didn't bother to think too long on the why since Natsu kept backing Ike against the fiery wall. If he took one more step he'd be swallowed by flames. Feeling the intense heat Ike began to sweat more then he already was. So Ike took a firm stance and swung as fast as he could in hopes to at least cut him, no matter how shallow it might be, across the chest. It was only when he was in mid swing that he realized how much of a bad idea it was because Natsu got down just in time and punched Ike above his right kneecap. His whole leg instantly went numb, he couldn't feel it. Fortunately he still had control over it to remain standing, but not much.

"'Bout time I got at least one of your pressure points," Natsu said to him.

Ike really wasn't sure what he was talking about but his attention soon left the hooded man when he noticed something in the fire out of the corner of his eye. Something was…slithering in the flames. Was there really something in there or was the fire merely playing a trick on his eyes.

As if reading his mind Natsu answered his question. "That wall is Talitha's familiar, Nuria. You betta be careful or the serpent will swallow you whole!" Then Natsu fist came straight toward Ike.

But this time Ike saw it coming so he sidestepped away, only Ike forgot about his leg and tumbled to the ground. But in the end it worked out because Natsu hand was consumed in the fire. The hooded guy screamed out in pain and instantly recoiled his hand. His glove and part of his sleeve was burnt off and his whole hand had been chard black. Was the fire that hot? He should have only had a few burns not looking like ha had just been roasting for ten minutes. Natsu also seemed to be in great pain as he cradled his baked hand. Maybe that was what he meant by "the serpent will swallow you whole"?

Before either of them could make a move, fireballs began falling right at Natsu who was still able to dodge with ease regardless of his injury. At first Ike thought it was the wall of flames but he looked back to see it was Soren. The young mage had switched to a fire tome and deep in concentration chanting his spell as fire balls were not only being shoot at his own opponent but Natsu as well. Ike knew he had the best strategist in the world but he possibly had the best mage in the world on his team.

As Ike struggled to get back on his feet, it seemed Izzu had stopped chasing Boyd and now had his sight on Soren. The mage attacked him with his magic and left only minor burn marks. Izzu paid no mind to them as he continued charging at him like a bull. Ike yelled for Soren to run but it was too late, Izzu was above him and was about to bring his fist down to flatten Soren.

Suddenly the ground beneath his feet curled up causing Soren to be catapulted a very short distance way and then a small pillar of earth shot out from the ground and hit Izzu in the face. Soren landed hard on the ground and even though Izzu didn't fall back he did stop moving momentarily. Ike didn't have to look to know it was Leila who saved Soren, plus the light from her body was a dead giveaway.

The pillar crumbled and Izzu was left unscratched, not even a bloody nose! "That kinda hurt," Izzu said duly as he rubbed his face.

"Are you trying ta get killed, dumb ass!" Natsu yelled over everyone to the big guy.

"Sorry boss," he apologized.

Leila had been on all fours but now was up and looked at Natsu with determination. "Captain Natsu, I want to know right now what's going on!" She told him a powerful voice. "If you wanted me to go back to Lynn why didn't you just ask? Why are you fighting them?"

None of them would look at her and Natsu, again, clutched at his chest with his good hand. "Somethings are beyond even our understanding," he told her.

Just then the sound of hooves echoed in their battle arena. It grew louder and when they heard the cry of a horse one had jumped though the flames. Its rider was donned in knight armor with had a head of blue hair. _Geoffrey_! Ike never thought he'd be so glad to see him in all his life.

Geoffrey sent his horse galloping straight toward Natsu. He brought his lance up and then swung it down in order to impale him. Natsu avoided it for the most part but the lance had caught him in the neck. It's wasn't deep but some blood had arched as the hooded man fall and didn't move again. He was still alive but he just wasn't moving anymore. The rest of their opponents stopped moving too, they just stared at Natsu in horror.

The knight rode back to where Ike was and jumped down from his mount. "How do you always get in these messes?" Geoffrey asked as he helped him up. Ike had been wondering that himself.

Out of nowhere Leila ran up and started hitting Geoffrey. "Why would do that!" She cried at him as tears were forming in her eyes.

"Clam down," he ordered her and grabbed the girl's flailing arms but she continued to fight. Mist had run over to help but wasn't succeeding.

"Leila, what's wrong?" Ike tried to ask her but the girl just began to whimper.

All of a sudden a deep laugh filled their ears, the kind that made you hair stand on ends. It was coming from Natsu. Very slowly he arose making his hood fall in the process. His white hair was down to his shoulders and his red eyes fill of bloodlust. But most surprising of all was his ears, they that of a cat. He was a laguz! "Yes," his voice now full with insanity, "the sweet smell of blood, oh how I've missed it. I just want rip open some throats so it can pour all over the ground! Hahahahahahahaha!" His entire group had already put great distance between themselves and him; this wasn't the first time he's done this.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" Geoffrey demanded gripping his lance tighter.

"He wasn't like this before you stabbed him," Ike told him.

"_Rip the flesh so there's nothing left to tell what they are,_" Natsu sang to himself as he swayed like a drunken man. He was completely deranged. Ike's stomach began to turn growing more alarmed by the laguz.

"Lehran Madness," Leila said just over a whisper.

"What?" Ike looked back at her to make sure he heard right. _Lehran? _

She nodded solemnly. "A long time ago a weird medallion came to Lynn. Anyone who touched it just started going crazy and killed anyone in their way."

Was it the same medallion that made his father go crazy? He looked at Natsu still singing his sickening song. Was this what his father looked like when he went on his killing rampage all those years ago? He clenched his fist now feeling sorry for the laguz. "Any reason he's going crazy now?" Ike asked Leila.

"Certain things trigger it, for Captain Natsu its blood."

"This information would have been good to know beforehand," Soren said.

"I told you not to hurt him!" She snapped at him which surprised everyone. Then sounding like she did before Leila said, "The only way to bring him back to his sense is to beat him till he can't fight anymore." It was a little strange that she seemed to know so much about this, but he would have to question that later. Right now his job was to get everyone out of this alive.

Ike put his hand on the girl's small shoulder. "Don't worry Leila," he said to her. "I know how to fight a laguz, my friend Ranulf and I spared all the time."

She looked hopeful. "What kind of laguz was he?" She asked.

"A cat."

The hope vanished and was replaced with disappointment. "Oh, was all she said. But then added, "Well I guess you can pretend Captain Natsu is just a really _big _kitty."

After she said that Natsu began to transform. Now Ike understood why Leila sounded so worried. Natsu was indeed a really_ big _kitty, he was a freakin' _lion! _His fur and long mane was as white as his hair had been and he looked like a starving lion considering how small he was.

But Ike was sure he was because he would be as fast as he was in his humanoid form. Sure enough he was, maybe even faster because in an instant Natsu was about to maul Ike with his giant claws.

Just barely did Ike succeed in blocking Natsu. Even though his claws were embedded into Ike's shoulders he was able to keep the lion's snapping mouth from biting at his neck with his sword. While Natsu gnawed at the sword that was in his mouth, Ike looked into the laguz eyes. A person could see the laguz's intelligence in their eyes and tell it was no simple beast but with Natsu he had truly become a wild animal. He looked like one of the Feral ones he fought not long ago

"Talitha!" He heard someone shout, which Ike was sure it was Borka but right now he really didn't care as the cat's claws were digging deeper. "You have to stop him!"

Ike wasn't sure what was going on because all he could see was the lion still trying to rip him apart but then he heard Talitha say in voice that sounded like she had just taken a brutal hit, "I can't…not with Leila near him."

Just when Ike's arms were about to give out Natsu was knocked away by a wind spell. The moment the laguz was away from Ike and the others fire shot out the wall and took the form of a serpent. It slithered around Natsu and soon created a mini cyclone of fire appeared with him in the center. They could still hear the lion roaring in anger as he tried to escape but to no avail. Ike glanced over at the woman to see her chanting to control her familiar and blood was pouring out of her mouth. Wait, blood? Why was she bleeding? Was this part of being a spirit charmer?

"Ike, are you alright?" Soren asked him looking at his blood soaked shoulders.

"I'll be fine," he told him even if he didn't feel it. The hot air was stinging the wounds.

"Leila!" Mist shouted which caused everyone to turn and look. Leila stood petrified looking at her arms that was covered in Ike's blood. She must have gotten sprayed when Natsu slashed his shoulders. Her eyes were wide and she was trembling horribly. "Leila, it's okay!" Mist shouted at her as she shook her gently, trying to get the girl to look at her. "You're okay, it's not your blood!"

But none of that help any because Leila began screaming which caused everyone to be thrown back. Worst yet she caused the cyclone of fire to disappear.

/~/~/

"_Ryu…what's wrong? You're not mad at me are you?"_

"_Leila! What are you doing? You're going to get yourself killed!"_

"_I refuse to live as that bastard's puppet anymore!"_

Tune in three Wednesday from today to find out what happens.


	5. Chapter 4

*sigh* I got a little depressed writing this.

Anywho. Thanks for the reviews and I hope this is worth the wait.

/~/~/

Chapter 4

_The day that would forever change my life happened when people started touching that strange medallion. They started going crazy and even began killing those they held dear to them. At the time no one knew what was going on as half of the population of Lynn was put into one of the few bunkers under the keep. Tala and I sat in one of the corners reading. I had been in the middle of one of my lessons with Anna when daddy came and rushed us down here and Tala had insisted I finish it. _

"…_And so even after Zasha sacrificed himself as payment for the mistake his brother caused, the war between beorc and Laguz continued," I read the passage to Tala. "Outraged by this, Zasha brother, Leofwin, swore revenge against all living things, "_People are far too sinful creatures to live," _he said._ _So to rid the world of this sin he brought back the lost science so he could turn himself into the…ah…" I struggled with sounding the next word out. _

"_Stuck on a word?" Tala guessed._

"_Yes," I told her. "If I spell it out could you tell me what it is?"_

_Tala shook her head. "I'm sorry Leila, I don't know my letters."_

_I sighed as I put the book down. I wasn't even sure why I had to study this, all this story was is just a myth. A fable to teach people the dangers of power and knowledge that was beyond mortal's understanding. But daddy said I had to know this story since it influenced the founding of Lynn…or something of that nature. But right now I didn't feel like studying, Tala and I both were worrying about Anna. She went off with daddy and the people who were arriving were saying how horrible things were outside. Blood was filling the streets and bodies were all over the ground. Were we being attacked? I said a quick prayer to the goddess to keep daddy, Ryu, and Anna safe. _

_Glancing over to where the guards stood by the door I asked Tala, "How much longer do you think we'll be in here?" I was getting bored and I couldn't stand having to sit still for this long. I wasn't even sure how long we had been down here. There were no windows to tell the passing of time._

"_I'm afraid I can't give you an answer. But I'm sure the Grandmaster is doing all he can to resolve this matter as quickly as possible," Tala told me. _

_That was true. But his first priority was to get everyone inside the keep and into the bunkers. I wondered if the other bunkers were filled like this one. _

_Suddenly, the men by the door grasped their swords and turned their full attention to the door. Many people clutched their loved ones as they feared what was coming, but not me; because I knew who it was. I could feel the familiar energy walking down the hall toward us. _Ryu! Maybe he can tell me what was going on outside!

_Jumping to my feet I ran to the door to meet him regardless of the protest of Tala called out. One of the guards looked at me and saw my smiling face and relaxed his grip on his weapon (he probably knew me, or knew _of_ me) while the other one drew his. _

_The doors opened wide and out of the dark hallway stood my brother head looking down at the floor. He had the same black hair as me but was shorter and his bangs were about to cover his eyes. His brand was over his left eye, from check to brow. In appearance, we looked to be about ten years apart, Ryu being sixteen and I six, but of course to two of us were much older than that. He was in his training gear and had two swords in hand._

"_It's just you Ryu," the guard with the sword out said as he lowered it. "How fair things above?"_

_Ryu answered him by flicking one of his swords up that went through the man's mouth. The sword's tip poked through the back of the man's head causing nearly everyone in the room to cry out in horror. As the sword was pulled out the guard crumpled to the ground and soon blood covered him as it poured out of his gapping mouth. _

_I looked at Ryu confused. Why would he do this? He must have had a good reason. Maybe that guy was a bad guy; that might be it. But I lost that thought when I saw his eyes. They were like looking into a void. All darkness, no emotion. "Ryu…what's wrong?" I asked, really starting to get scared. I took one step back to put just a little distance between us. "You're not mad at me are you?" He did get angry at me sometimes but he never acted like this._

"_What in bloody hell are you doing?" The other guard shouted. _

_Looking right at me, Ryu took a few steps toward me, closing the space between us. "Die," he hissed as he raised both swords up at me. _

_I stood rooted in my spot; part of me thought this whole thing was a dream while the other part was just frozen with fear. He would have killed me too had the other guard not knocked me to the ground in time, but he lost his arm in the process. One of the swords cut the man's arm off while the other one cut across my chest. It wasn't deep, just a very long scratch. But it still caused pain and bled a lot. Or at least it seemed so. When Ryu had sliced the guard's arm I was sprayed from major arteries being cut. The guard was curled up on the ground clutching his bleeding nub. His severed arm was over my leg, I could feel it even though I didn't look. I just stared up at the ceiling. I was covered in blood; I could feel the substance run down my face like it was just water. It was warm and wet and I just wanted to scream out; but I couldn't fine my voice. _

_This was all just a dream, it had to be. Why…why was Ryu trying to hurt me?_

_It was then at that moment, as I lay in the growing pool of crimson red, that I knew this was not my brother. He had been killed and replaced by this monster. And this monster was going to kill me!_

/~/~/

A sharp pain entered through Leila's cheek that brought her back to consciousness. The first thing she saw was Soren standing over her with his hand raised. He'd just slapped her! "Ow, why'd you have to hit me?" She wined as she placed her hand over the red mark she imagined on her face. It was stinging and she could feel some heat rising from it. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw something red on her sleeve. Her mind went back to that day and she felt herself shaking at the memory.

"Don't look at it!" Soren snapped as he smacked her hand out of her view.

She did as he said but it was difficult, to look at something one wasn't was one of the biggest temptations especially. Her heart was beating so hard it became painful. But she kept breathing to keep calm and soon realized her surroundings. Leila was propped against a fallen tree and she could see others with her. Mist was over Shinon healing what looked like teeth marks on his arm. Boyd was at the other end of the log scoping the other side with his ax ready to swing if anyone came around. There were a number of knights as well, some injured. Lastly she saw Talitha sitting not far from her unconscious.

Leila was just about to ask what had happened when a blood-thirsty roar vibrated through her whole being. She cowered when she remembered what happened before she passed out. That knight guy had caused captain Natsu to bleed and that in turned made him go mad. Just like Ryu did all those years ago. Peaking over the log she saw a very wounded Ike fight the lion form of Natsu with the blue haired knight guy, Izzu, and Borka. Then there were several horses that were sprawled on the with their throats ripped out. The white lion was now stained crimson red but Leila doubted any of it was his own as she watched him tackle Izzu out of the way.

Sliding back Leila began to fear for her life. What if Natsu attacked her as her own brother had? If he did she would surly die this time since her daddy wasn't going to be here to save her again.

"Listen," Soren said that brought her back from her thoughts. "I can't believe I'm saying this but if any of us are going to survive this we're going to need your help." She looked at her fellow branded and wondered if he had hit his head while she was out. Though she may have only known these mercenaries for a short time she got the feeling that Soren wasn't the kind to ask for help. "You know this laguz, does he have a weakness, is there a trick to bringing him back to his senses?"

Looking at Talitha that was when they realized that the fire wall that she had summoned to keep Natsu under control was gone. "She's normally the one to subdue him with her spirit. But…what happened to her?"

"She passed out when her spirit disappeared," Mist said from over her shoulder.

"I believe it to be your power," Soren explain. "When you cried out, not only did it vanish, the wind grew fierce and nearly knocked us all out."

_I did that, _Leila looked in disbelief where Talitha's familiar once was. She could understand why he would think she could have done that, but she had never been able to bend the wind to her will like all the other elements. She couldn't even remember what happened after Ike's blood landed on her, not even screaming. Nothing at all.

Leila curled into a ball; they were all going to die. She didn't want to die, she didn't want the warm blood to touch her, and she didn't want to watch Captain Natsu to tear into everyone like he was just some mindless animal! And it would all be her fault. If it wasn't for her these kind people wouldn't have gotten caught up in all this. If only there was some way for this whole situation to end with everyone still alive. The way things were going either Captain Natsu would be killed or everyone else will. If only she could save everyone.

Suddenly the memory with Anna about a year after the medallion came to Lynn began to play in her head. She wasn't on the battle field anymore; she was in the courtyard with Anna and Tala who was sitting on a bench not far from her. "_Disarming a beorc is easy but a laguz is very difficult and only those who can master these skills can pull it off because our weapons are not something that you can take away easily," _Anna told Leila in one of her defense lessons. Leila was fairly good at this from of martial arts and was praised by how quickly she learned it. But it was Anna who was the master. Leila had always looked up to laguz but after seeing her fight Leila had become determined to become just like her. She wanted to be just as strong and beautiful as her.

"_Now, when you fight someone like me in their beast form you just attack their pressure points and they'll be forced into their defenseless humanoid form," _the laguz explained as she pointed to the pressure point in her next. _"If it's a good strike then you could possibly temporary paralyze them."_

Leila had nodded in understanding. She had enjoyed these lessons, even if they were a lot of hard work. Her daddy had decided it was important to learn these skills if she was ever attacked again.

Now she saw the calm Captain Natsu strolling through the grounds, his hood was down to reveal his pale, sane, eyes. _"Defense lessons again Anna,"_ he asked the other laguz.

"_Yes," _she answered him. _"I'm just about to teach Leila how to immobilize a laguz."_

Captain Natsu began to chuckle. "_Forgive me when I say this, Anna, but you would make a poor opponent to practice these moves on."_

Anna took no offence to this, it was true after all. "_Are you suggesting yourself to be her training partner?"_

"_I just think she needs an opponent that won't hold anything back like in a real fight," _he answered her.

Anna was considering it but honestly Leila wasn't sure what she thought of this. At this time Leila didn't know Natsu very well, just that he was the captain of the guard and that nearly everyone respected him. And also that he was just like her brother, ready to go crazy at any moment.

"_Sis! You can't seriously be considering this brut!" _Tala shouted to Anna. "_What if he hurts our little Leila?"_

"_Miss Tala, I'm hurt by your words,"_ Captain Natsu said in a mocking tone placing both hands over his heart. This just caused Tala to growl like a mother wolf would when she felt her cubs were being threatened.

"_Very well Natsu,"_ Anna announced. _"You have the job."_

"_But sis!" _Tala cried out but Anna wouldn't let her finish.

"_What he says is true; Leila needs someone who can properly fight in their beast form. Don't worry Tala, if it starts to look like he's about to go crazy I'll be able to take him out." _

Anna walked over to her sister as Captain Natsu took his place in front of Leila. "_There is no need for worry Miss Tala, I would never dream of hurting the little lady." _

Leila took up a fighting stance and before Captain Natsu transformed he said to her words that she would always remember; "_Now Leila, attack me as if I was really aiming to take your life because in a real fight your opponent will show no mercy."_

_How could I have forgotten that! _Leila wanted to slap herself in the face. But there was no time for that now. She noticed that no one was paying attention to her now that everyone was trying to wake Talitha since she was the only one who could stop the mad laguz. Slowly she was becoming conscious.

But there was another way.

And Leila was the only one who could do it.

She wasn't sure how much blood was on her and didn't care to know. If she was going to stop Captain Natsu she needed no distractions. So she closed her eyes and began to rip the sleeves off her blouse. She was surprised by how easily the seams ripped. With both arms exposed she quickly dashed around the log out into the open battlefield.

Ike and the others weren't doing so well, especially Ike. His movements were slow and sloppy and from his pale face Leila could tell that he had lost too much blood. Plus there was a bad gash on his thigh that was hindering his movements.

Izzu grabbed hold Natsu's neck and tried to keep him from moving as Geoffrey and Borka charged with their weapons ready to strike at him. But before they could attack him, Natsu dipped his head down causing Izzu to fly off the ground and sent into Geoffrey and Borka. With the three of them down it seemed the lion planned to finish them in one swoop but Leila wouldn't let anyone die.

She dropped to her knees and placed both hands on the ground. Mixing her energies with the earth's she manipulated the section below Captain Natsu to raise. A pillar rose and struck the lion on his underbelly causing him to be thrown backwards. He rolled back to his paws and growled furiously at what had just happened.

Before he could regain his senses Leila quickly threw a rock she found on the ground to turn his attention on her. "Captain Natsu!" She shouted after the rock bounced of his head. "If you want to kill me, well here I am!" She pointed to herself.

Maybe it was because of her brand and the strange feeling laguz always got from them that caused him to charge at her. But he comes. As she raised both of her hands to get into her fighting stance she hoped her fear wouldn't leave her rooted on spot. This was the sole reason her daddy had her learn how to fight, so she could defend against those with Lehran Madness.

"Leila! What are you doing?" Ike yelled as he leaned against a tree for support. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

Everyone else was shouting at her to get out of there but she ignored all of them as prepared herself for Natsu.

She pretended she was back in the courtyard learning how to fight with Captain Natsu and Anna watching over them. _No!_ She cried in her head. _This is real, if I mess up there's no way I can redo it. Anna won't save me and neither will daddy. The only person who's going to save me is me!_ _"Attack me as if I was really aiming to take your life because in a real fight your opponent will show no mercy." _She repeated what he taught her all those years ago.

_Then I shall show you no mercy either Captain Natsu._ He was her friend and mentor of sorts. It was her duty to save him from hisself.A single tear rolled down her check as she watched the lion leap toward her, claws outstretched. Letting her instincts take over she sidestepped to his side. Through her heightened senses she saw the pressure point in his neck almost like it was glowing. With all her might she jabbed at her target, her hand quickly disappearing through his thick mane and then connected to his neck.

The moment he landed on his paws the lion collapsed and transformed back to a man. Leila's legs gave out on her and she fell to her knees panting. All her adrenaline was gone. She watched as Captain Natsu struggled to move but he couldn't, Leila had hit the point just right and he was paralyzed for now. She had done it, she was still alive!

Captain Natsu began to growl furiously as he continued to get to his feet But only managed to prop himself on his elbows. The longer he fought the softer his cries became. Soon he began to laugh, but a saner one. "You had one hell of a teacher, Leila," he said her.

Leila crawled to his side, "I wouldn't be as strong as I am today if it wasn't for you Captain Natsu."

"Well," he said quietly to her, "there seems nothing else to teach you. Now, take my life so I don't have to capture you."

_What?_ "How could you possibly ask me to do such a thing!" Leila screamed at him. She couldn't-wouldn't kill him. Not after everything he had done!

"I suppose that was stupid of me to ask, you are nothing like your father and brother." Natsu managed to turn his head and both of them saw Ike limping over. In fact everyone was coming over toward them. Looking at Ike he said, "Oy, mercenrie. Since I'm your enemy you'll kill me right?"

Ike looked shocked at this. Leila couldn't believe this, was Captain Natsu really planning to die? _Please don't kill him Ike, _she pleaded in her mind. To her relief he shook his head. "I've no interest in killing a defenseless person."

"But you know I'm a menace!" Natsu hissed at Ike. "I'm a danger to everyone! Do this world a favor and let it be rid of me!"

Leila looked at back to Talitha and the others to see them look everywhere but Natsu. Were they seriously going to let him die? She thought surly that Talitha would put a stop to all this nonsense.

"Your life isn't mine to take," Ike told Natsu.

"That's right." Leila added, "How could you ask to kill someone who taught me so much and who would do anything to protect Lynn?" _Just what has happened to you? What happened to the Captain Natsu I knew?_

Natsu clenched his fist, but then suddenly released it. Without looking at her he said, "Why is it that it is always children that show the grown-ups what they did wrong?" He was silent for a moment, Leila wasn't sure if she was supposed to answer him but he spoke again in a determined tone. "Listen carefully to me Leila because I can't repeat myself. There are people out there looking for you." Blood began to run out of the corners of his mouth as he seized at his chest. "There's this…ritual…and he needs you in order to complete it." Just then Natsu's eyes grew wide and he vomited up blood. Ike pulled Leila back far enough so the blood wouldn't get sprayed on her.

"Boss!" Borka cried out. Natsu now had their full attention as all their eyes were filled with alarm. "You're going to kill yourself if you keep talking like that!"

"Just shut up!" Natsu yelled at him as he struggled on all fours. He somehow managed it but it caused the knights to raise their weapons but the blue haired knight told them to lower them. "I refuse to live as that bastard's puppet anymore!" He declared as his head hit the ground, both hands clutching his heart, and fought to keep from screaming out in pain but small whimpers escaped through clenched teeth. Just what was happening to him? Leila could do nothing but stare at the horror in front of her. Was this her doing? Did she hit him to hard?

With one arm in front of Leila Ike asked, "Who's "he"? What does he want with Leila?"

The laguz was trembling in pain but managed to say, "If I could tell you that I would have told you from day one!" He looked up at Ike, "Please, I'm begging you…Keep Leila safe…until the eclipse has passed." This time Natsu screamed out like an invisible person was beating him to death.

"Natsu, please stop this!" Talitha cried.

"Sorry…But…it looks like I'm going first," he told her causing tears to flood her face. Then he said to the three of them. "This is my last order to you guys…do what you want but don't let me catch you in hell with me anytime soon!"

Lastly he looked to Leila. "There is a traitor in Lynn, trust in your instincts. And stay away from-" Suddenly Natsu took in a sharp breath and crumbled into a pool of his blood, eyes still wide, unmoving.

Carefully, Leila moved closer to Natsu and grabbed his arm where there wasn't any blood. "Captain Natsu," she said softly as if not wanting to wake him. Then she began to shake him. "Captain Natsu!" She called out louder.

Borka turned and was about to leave, "Come on you two, let's get out of here before we're compelled to capture her again."

"Bye, boss," Izzu said as he began following Borka. But Talitha stood in her spot, her eyes fixed on Natsu.

"Talitha!" Borka shouted.

Her head shot up. "Right," she mumbled as she hurried away with them.

Leila didn't pay much mind to them as her focus was to Natsu; he must be hurt, she had hit his pressure point to hard. That had to be what was wrong. She turned around and grabbed both of Mist's arms. "Please Mist!" Leila cried, "You have to heal him!"

Mist eyes began to swell, "Leila…he's…gone." A few tears began to fall when Leila began shaking her head.

"N-no!" Leila yelled. He…he can't….Captain Natsu can't be… "Please, won't you help him! I know he hurt Ike and everyone else but…but Captain Natsu had to have a good reason. Please! Lynn still needs him!" _I still need him!_

Mist began crying hard now and Leila felt Ike's hand on her back. In a gentle voice he said to her, "Natsu is dead, no amount of healing will bring him back."

Deep down Leila knew what they were saying was true; she just didn't want it to believe it. She felt like the ground was going to open up and swallow her. Captain Natsu was dead. What was going to happen to Ryu? Now he would have to face the madness alone.

Suddenly, tears began running down Leila's cheek like a stream. She pulled from Ike's grasp and threw herself over Natsu and cried into his back. Her vision was so blurry that she didn't even notice the blood. "CAPTAIN NATSU!" It was her fault, she must have killed him!

/~/~/

Natsu…dead? That just didn't seem possible. But here was the proof; his name was gone from the scroll that was hung on the stone wall. Though there were only two candles that lit up the large scroll on either side he was certain he was Natsu's name glow and then burn up. Now all that was left was a scorch mark, making eleven in all.

The priest leaned back against the cool wall in this ancient underground ruin. He shouldn't be surprise that Natsu died the way he did. There was hardly a time when his name wasn't lit up. _So he died trying to tell someone what our master was planning, _the priest concluded. He couldn't decide if Natsu was brave or stupid. Either way, he wished he had his strength so he could oppose their master.

All of a sudden his heart was in pain, like someone was squeezing it. Though it only lasted a second it was enough pain for him to break out into a cold sweat. He looked up at the scroll and sure enough his name was glowed for a moment, proving he had activated the curse. He pulled down the collar of his tunic to look at the mark on his chest. It was the ancient symbol for bound servant. He should have known better than to think such things. If anyone ever thought about or began to act out against their master the mark would cause them pain until they fell back in line.

There were so many names on the scroll that the man just lost heart to count the rest once he reached seventy.

He had to inform his master of Natsu's death so he hurried down the tunnel to the ritual chamber where he was sure that man was at. He soon came to the first of the many forks in the tunnel. This whole damned place was like a maze! The priest would have gotten lost had he not been trapped down here for so long he can't even remember. It had been so long since he had seen the beautiful sun that it would probably burn his eyes if he ever left. Now he knew this place better than anything.

At the end of the tunnel he saw the eerie glow of light magic. This small orb of light was in the center of large circular room where many scholars were painting symbols all around. The shadows of these people just brought out how evil this place really it was. It was like demons were dancing all around them. Then there was the figure in the center who was wearing a thick traveling cloak with the hood up. This was the son of a bitch who put the mark on all of them. And it would seem he just arrived or about to leave.

Pain entered him but he didn't care, it was what he really though! More pain. He stopped thinking about that man. He walked up to the hooded figure.

The hood moved to look over his shoulder at the priest. "So is someone else dead," he asked. The voice was old and deep, like he had seen a lot in his life.

"Natsu," the priest answered him.

"Hmm, well that's disappointing. He could have been a rather useful pawn if he could have just cooperated. Was he killed or was it the mark that got him?"

"It was the mark. Apparently he tried to go against you." It was painful to talk about Natsu as if he was the enemy but what could he do? Absolutely nothing.

"He lasted longer than I expected. I had thought kidnapping that branded child would have been simple enough for them. Oh well, maybe this will set an example to the rest of his team not to defile me." He pulled out a rewarp staff from under his cloak. It would appear he's about to leave. "I heading back now before I'm missed. Keep your eyes on the scroll, I'm expecting a few more name to be erased soon."

The top of the staff glowed as the light engulfed the man and he vanished. As he walked away he prayed for his own death to come soon. Whether or not this madman's plans succeed or not they were all going to die. He just hoped he didn't die the painful and violent death said to await those who turn against their master.

/~/~/

"_It would seem that we have been betrayed by the very person who sought out our influence."_

"_Do you have any idea what your carelessness has done? You could have compromised the mission!"_

"_You're joking, right? Transforming that quickly can be highly harmful to a laguz."_


	6. Chapter 5

I'm so sorry about the wait! I got writer's block bad! So this chapter is probably going to be a little rough. I'm going ahead and apologize for making Bastian sound too ooc. Hopefully the next one wont take me so long.

* * *

Chapter 5

_I was the runt of the family as some called it; the youngest of five children, three older brothers and one sister. So I was easily overlooked. All three of my brothers were assassins as was my father until he lost his arm during the Medallion Fight. _

_When I was young all of my brothers died in a landslide. They had been station at one of the watch towers when the ground underneath it gave way killing a total of ten. That left carrying on my family's legacy to me. There was hardly any time to mourn for them since I was put immediately to training. _

"_They were the best at what they did," my father would always tell me when I would run out of steam. "You have to be better than them. They're weaknesses have to become your strength." Days began with one hundred push-ups and chin-ups and then weapon training of every kind. He would work me until my body just refused to move anymore. It didn't take me long to realize that my childhood was over and I was only six. _

_Turning thirteen became a blessing to me since that meant I would leave home and move into the keep to train with others my age. Although I would miss my sister because she was the only one who let me act like my age. But I suppose I should be grateful to the man who I called father. Because of him I was able to surpass my class members and move on to the next class. This delighted him to no ends. Soon I was on the same level with people who were five years older than me. I was on the verge of becoming the youngest assassin. _

_Then the time came three years later. It had been an ordinary day, a sparring match between me and someone who was twice my size. I didn't bother learning the names of my peers._

_It was an unarmed match that only lasted a second. When my opponent took his first swing at me I quickly rolled behind him and kicked him to the ground. Before he had a chance to recover I jump on him and plunged my palm on his throat. Had I used a hidden blade my opponent would be dead. I had won that match so I got up and helped him with the same hand I used to pretend to kill him with. My hand began to shake the moment I let go of my classmate; even if it was pretend I knew someday it would have to be real. _

_Once the class was over my teacher came to me saying he had something to discus with me. When the training room was empty he began telling me his news. "The Grandmaster is undertaking a very important mission and has asked if any of my students would be up to the task. It was your name, Colin, that I thought of?"_

"_Me?" I blurted out. How could he possible pick me? _

_As if reading my mind he answered, "Your one of my best students. The only thing you lack is experience. I have full confidence that you have the skill to do this, if of course you think you're ready."_

_My head was saying no but my mouth went ahead and said yes. If I completed this mission then I would become a full-fledged assassin and a step closer to achieving the rank of master. This was what my father raised me to become. Even if I dreaded the day when someone else's blood would run down my hand I would just have to get over it. For there was no such thing as an assassin that didn't kill._

/~/~/

The young assassin jolted awake as he came to. His hands were bound and he was lying on the cool stone floor of a cell. There was a small window above his head that let in the light from the moon and stars. Suddenly the back of his head began to throb and he remembered what had happened.

Colin had infiltrated Hospitalier Fortress with such ease he should have known right then that it was a trap. His target was Reinrag of Esuolpan, an alleged traveling healer from Begnion. This man took in Crimea's sick and crippled saying he could heal them. But he was nothing of the sort. He'd preform experiments and vivisections on them. It was sickening to watch but Colin had to as he shadowed his target from the rafters. It was no wonder he was wanted dead. His blade was itching to be done with this mission but there was never a good opportunity.

When Reinrag wasn't tending to his "patients" he was walking around with two guards. That should have been his second clue that this was a trap. There should be no reason for someone like him to have personal guards unless he had reason to believe his life was in danger.

Finally there came a time he dismissed his guards and went into a room. Colin had thought his chance had come so he jumped down to end this. Only his target wasn't alone.

"Things are getting worse," he suddenly heard a muffled voice, that wasn't his target's, say. Colin slid silently toward the agape door in order to hear better.

"Don't you think I know that, Lalat?" Reinrag said to his company. He knew that name; it was the name of Master Nyoka's target. Should he take them both and save Master Nyoka the trouble? Or was he to ignore Lalat since he wasn't his target? He didn't know what he was supposed to do; he was never informed of situations like this. "First it was Djam and now Rimat."

_They're talking about Master Ralik and Master Rhona's targets'! _Colin realized that they were on to them. He focused on solely on the conversation, his next big mistake, in order to learn what they were planning.

"Don't forget about Duoqun, I heard he was shot," the voice of Lalat added. "Goddess knows we're next!"

"It would seem that we have been betrayed by the very person who sought out our influence," a different male voice said. There was a third person? "This means our plans will have to be pushed forward if we want to succeed in our goals."

And that was the last thing Colin remembered. Because he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings he guessed someone snuck behind him and hit him in the head. He let his head fall back to the floor for his mistake. But then he started to realize something, where was Master Nyoka? Colin knew he was his seconded; hiding in the shadows. The moment Colin failed Master Nyoka was to step in. So where was he? Was he captured too?

He shook his head of that thought. Right now he had to assume that he was on his own; only he was going to save his skin. So the first thing to do was to asset the situation. Even though his hands were tied behind him he still managed to sit up. As he suspected all his knives and the rest of his gear was gone. Now he wished he had Master Ghost's skill with making escapes. Colin was sure that heron was double-jointed. He began pulling his arms free but that did nothing.

As he released a sigh he realized something, the ropes weren't cutting into his wrist. He twisted his hands around and to his relief he still had his vambraces, which meant he had his hidden blade. With a flick of his finger the blade slide out and Colin began sawing through the ropes.

Suddenly he heard footsteps walking toward him. He was sure it was going to be his target but it wasn't. It was a man in his thirties with dark skin and hair. He must have been a man of importance since there were two guards with him even though he was dressed in a simple green and black tunic and trousers. Over his shoulder was a quiver of arrows and a bow. Colin had no idea who this person was until he spoke. "Good, you're awake. We have questions for you." This man was the slave trader Lalat, the young assassin realized. He not only dealt in that laguz slave trade but also in beorc. They were the ones people wouldn't miss; beggars, widows, orphans.

Lalat motioned to the guards and they opened the cell to drag Colin out into the hallway. The guards followed the trader down the passage way still having a firm hold of Colin. He wondered what they planned to do to him; they were obviously going to torture him for information, why else would he still be alive? He was scared, any sane person would be. Colin wondered what would transpire in the next moments.

They stopped when they entered a large room that had a walkway around it and a few torches lit making Colin wonder what lay hidden in the shadows. In the center was Reinrag standing over a table. He was an elderly man who was starting to lose his white hair, wearing dark robes and an apron that the young assassin was sure to be covered in blood. Upon hearing their approach, he stopped his work and turned to face them. As he turned Colin caught a gimps at what was on the table; bones. Goddess, was Reinrag going to turn him into one of his "patients"?

The guards suddenly pushed Colin to his knees making both Lalat and Reinrag loom over him as if they were the dominate beings. Colin merely stared up at them as he continued to cut through his binds. He still had a chance to get out of this alive, as long as he timed this right. He also hoped that these men might show him some mercy because of his young age but he knew not to hold his breath on that.

"This is how this will work, assassin. We'll ask you questions and the more you answer the less pain you'll be in before you die," Lalat informed him. "Who sent you after us?"

Colin didn't answer, just continued to glare at him as he focused on freeing himself. Just a little more and he should be free. He'll catch them by surprise, kill Reinrag, and get the hell out of here. Only thing was he wasn't sure where "here" was.

Out of nowhere a fist slammed into the side of Colin's face. This caused his blade to slip and cut deep into his hand. He kept his mouth tight shut so not to scream out from the stinging pain because that would show a sign of weakness. Right now he needed to show them that he couldn't break easily.

"You think that just because you are a child we will show you mercy?" Lalat yelled at him. He raised his arm to strike at Colin again but Reinrag grabbed his arm before he could.

"Don't be so quick to anger," he said. Lalat pulled his arm away from him and Reinrag turned to Colin. "Child, we take no pleasure in causing you pain. But if you do not cooperate we will be forced to." Colin wondered if Reinrag seriously thought he'd convince him by saying that. When he didn't reply Reinrag sighed. "I'm sorry to be doing this. Break one of his legs," he said to the guards.

Now panic entered Colin that made him push his escape plan forward. He pulled his arms apart ripping the ropes the rest of the way. He managed to shake the guards grip, mainly because he caught them by surprise, and lunged for Reinrag.

Colin would never know if he would have done it, taken the life of this mad man. Out of nowhere Lalat came and stopped him. He twisted Colin's arm to were the blade was right over the nap of his neck, ready to pierce though the skin to end his life with the slightest amount of force. Even through the strain in his right arm and his bleeding left wrist he could still feel the blade's point resting on his neck. He didn't dare resist as he was at this man's mercy and had no idea how to escape from this.

"Tragic really," Lalat said with a firm hold on Colin's arm. "You certainly have the makings of a true assassin. Too bad you'll not live much longer." With his free arm Lalat pulled a knife from his belt, it would seem they had decided to just go ahead and kill them. Was this really how it was going to end, him dying doing something he never wanted to do?

Just when Colin was about to give up he saw a figure up on the walkway. Then the figure leaped over the railing and landed on Reinrag. Colin knew instantly who it was when he saw the figure's coat; Nyoka! He stood up, crimson red hand, with Reinrag dead on the ground. Blood was still running out of Reinrag neck and his eyes were still open.

Lalat's grip tightened on Colin's arm as he took a few heisted steps back. "Kill him!" He shouted at the two guards.

They were about to draw their weapons when out of the darkness an arrow shot out and embedded itself in one of the guard's throat. Before the other one had a chance to figure out what was going on Master Nyoka swung his sword under the guard's feet that caused him to land hard on the ground and then stabbed him in the chest.

Master Nyoka took a few steps toward them when Colin felt himself being pushed forward making Nyoka shove him out of the way. Colin hit the floor and rolled back to his feet to see Lalat running down the hallway. Before he vanished over the threshold another arrow flew out and grazed his shoulder, catching some of the fabric at the end of the tip.

Once the target was out of sight Master Nyoka let out a frustrated groan as he kicked the table over allowing the bones to clatter all over the stone floor. Colin flinched as he watched the skull cracked open on impact. Its empty sockets seemed to be staring right at him. "What should we do master?" Colin asked, wondering if they were to chase after Lalat or make themselves scarce before the knights came for he was sure an alarm had been sound by now.

"You will return to the hideout. You're done," Nyoka said simply.

_No! _ That means he had failed. He began to panic; what would his father say when he found out about his failure? He couldn't let it end like this. "Please Master Nyoka," Colin pleaded. "Allow me to get Lalat since I was unable to kill Reinrag."

Suddenly Nyoka grabbed Colin's coller. "Do you have any idea what your carelessness has done? You could have compromised the mission!" Nyoka yelled at him making him feel so small. "Do you honestly think I'm going to let you have a second chance?"

"That's enough Nyoka," Colin heard Master Kyle say who appeared standing next to them.

Colin was released and Nyoka turned away from him. "Kyle, you take the upper levels to get an eagle eye on our target, I'll follow his steps. Let's see if we can still catch him," Nyoka ordered as he casually began walking down the hallway Lalat escaped to. As he walked Nyoka freed the arrow from the wall and placed it in his pouch before breaking off into a sprint.

A hand landed on Colin's shoulder causing him to look behind him in alarm only to see it was Master Kyle. "Don't take it personal, he's like that with everyone," he told the boy. But it didn't really help improve Colin's feeling of failure. As Kyle walked away he said with a sigh, "Look rookie, just do as he says and get back to the hideout. Besides, that wrist of yours should probably be looked at."

_Right, _Colin thought as he looked down at his hand. Most of his sleeve and all of his hand was covered in his blood. He looked up just in time to Master Kyle scaling the wall up to a window on the walkway. He opened the window the jumped out of view.

That looked to be Colin's exit too. So he ran to the pillar to start his climb but stopped when he reached Reinrag's body. His eyes were still open.

Colin knelt next to the body. This man probably deserved a worst death but he was still human. He deserved a little bit of decency. "Be at peace," Colin whispered as he closed his eyes.

Blood indeed ran down his hand but it wasn't from his target.

/~/~/

"Sorry to be bothering you this late at night," Bastian apologized for the fourth time to the two Gallian warriors as he lead them down to the dungeons. It was well into the night when he had awoken these proxies from their slumbers. But once he mentioned Crimea and Gallia'a relations could be on the verge of collapse they quickly woke up.

"Hey, our country is happy to help out her highness in any way it can," the heterochromia cat laguz, Ranulf, said after a yawn.

"This must serious with all the secrecy," the lion, Giffca, said simply.

Bastian nodded. If word got out how this soldier died the citizens would be blaming their neighboring laguz and goddess knows what would happen after that. The three of them continued down the stairs in silence until they reached to bottom that caused both of the laguz to flinch. "I'm almost a little nervous about this secret of yours," Ranulf commented with his hand over his nose.

"Well, hopefully this matter will be resolved quickly," Bastian hopped as the two guards in the loop opened the door for them. That was when his sense of smell picked of the decay of the human body being kept down here. It was a very small room where they kept the corps of the soldier that had his throat ripped out and well lit. Thankfully the man's kin lived out on the boarders so it would take some time before word got to them about his death. The longer they could keep his death a secret the better.

The beautiful Lucia stood behind the table the corps laid on that was covered by a sheet. Normally Bastion would have made a long-winded comment about her being alone in the middle of the night with a stiff if time wasn't of the essence. Bastion looked at the laguz to see bewildered expressions. They knew what was under the sheet; they just didn't understand how it related to them. With a nod, Lucia carefully pulled back the cover the corps' forearms revealing the, now clean up, fang marks.

"Wow, what animal got ahold of him?" Ranulf asked staring at the gash with fixation.

Bastian walked around the table to stand next to Lucia. "This was no animal that attacked. This man was killed during the assassination of Djam Nidda."

"Are you saying it was a laguz that killed these two beorcs?" Giffca asked.

"This certainly isn't the work of a beorc," Lucia defended calmly. "There's no way we could be capable of this." Her eyes darted to the throat of the corps.

"We were hoping you could tell us what kind of a laguz would do this so we know where to start looking to find Djam killer," Bastian explained to them.

Both of the laguz examined the marks closely this time. They understood completely. If word got out that the killings in Crimea were done by a laguz then that could end the relations between the two races that Queen Elincia and her late father worked so hard to build. Personally Bastian didn't care much for Djam, but they couldn't allow someone of that assassin's skill to be free to run around the city. Plus there had been another murder, this one being a rich merchant who had been killed the same way Djam had. No one saw this assassin but it just had to be the same person. But why where those men killed with steel while this man on the table had his throat bitten.

"Jaw looks to be too big for a cat..." Ranulf mumbled to himself. "Yet…too narrow to be a tiger…"

Giffca let out a grunt in agreement. "It's definitely not a lion."

"Are you sure a laguz did this and not some animal? Ranulf asked yet again.

"Yes, I saw this man die right before my eyes," Bastian told him.

"Then why are you asking us what kind of laguz did this. You saw the attacker."

"Yes but…it happened in an instant. This person stayed a man the whole time," Bastian said as he began to doubt if this was really a laguz they were looking for, yet what else could have made those marks? "Listen," he said, "is it possible to change to and from a beast in less than a second?"

The laguz looked at him as if he had just asked the impossible. "You're joking, right?" Ranulf said. "Transforming that quickly can be highly harmful to a laguz. Things…might not go back to the way they were supposed to." The cat looked uncomfortable as he explained.

The count leaned back against the wall in exhaustion. They were back to square one. But…perhaps it was best, if this was a laguz then they would have to question each and every laguz that had entered the city and then that would look bad and everything would just be hell. He just hoped they could get some new leads without having someone else getting killed.

Just as he thought that Giffca said, "Someone's coming."

Lucia quickly pulled the sheet back over the body and Bastian left the room coming face to face with a messenger.

"What's the problem?" Bastian asked.

"Someone broke into Hospitalier Fortress; word is Reinrag of Esuolpan is dead."

/~/~/

Though it was well past midnight Ike and his mercenaries and some of the royal guard didn't feel like sleeping just yet. What had happened just hours before still hung heavy on all of them; whether it was their wounds or watching someone die a most violent death. They had somehow managed to travel a few miles from the ground that was now stained in a mist of blood and set camp.

Mist and the royal guard healer were about to collapse after tending to everyone's wounds. Ike's shoulders still stung a little each time he moved his arms but he could easily handle that. It was his leg that bothered him; he still had to limp to walk. It didn't hurt; in fact he couldn't feel anything. It must be like this because Natsu punched him in the kneecap. He'd make a poor commander if he stayed a cripple.

But his concern quickly shifted to Leila. Right now she was asleep in one of the tents. When it had been time to leave Ike had to rip her away from Natsu's bloody body and carry her as far as he dared in his condition. She wouldn't be the same, at least not for a while. Leila had indeed been awakened to a cruel world.

"We're a sorry lot to be protecting her highness in just a few days," Geoffrey said bringing Ike back to the campfire he and some of the others were sitting around. Geoffrey's forehead was bandaged but other than that he fared well. Ike couldn't say the same about the rest of the knights. One had their stomach ripped into by the laguz, no one suspected he would survive. Right now the healer was trying to ease the pain until he passed on.

"Your right," Ike agreed. "We'd probably just cause fret over our pitiful state."

Shinon glared at the splint that was on his right arm. When Natsu had bit his arm a bone had snapped. The archer was really lucky because when Ike saw it happen he though surely the lion was going to rip his arm off. Needless to say he was not happy, as he rarely was, since it would be some time before he could draw a bow string. "Can't believe there are crazy people like that in the world." Ike heard Shinon grumble.

"Shinon," Ike hissed at the archer as he gestured to the tent Leila was in. The last thing he wanted was for her to hear this if she just happened to be awake.

"Well the little brat shouldn't mess with people like that," the archer argued not trying to keep his voice down. "It's like he said, the world's better off without him."

For a brief moment Ike wondered if Shinon would still think the same if he knew that Natsu and his father were the same.

"You do realize that there are probably more people like that laguz," Soren said causing everyone to turn their attention to the young tactician. "Leila talked about the madness as if it were some disease. So if she talked about it like that then it must have been a sort of epidemic in her village so to speak."

It was frightening to think there was even one other person who ended up like Greil, but to think there were more. Then there was the question of how the medallion even ended up in Leila's village in the first place. He could ask Leila, but he doubted she knew since it had to have happened before she was born; after all, it had been in his family's hands for maybe twenty years, before that it was in Deain.

"You don't think there are going to be more like that laguz hunting that girl, do you?" Geoffrey asked.

"There's no way to know until it happens," Soren answered. "It's apparent that we decide on what to do with Leila. As long as she's with us we a risk of fighting people like that again and suffer more casualties."

It was times like these when Soren's objective mind made him sound cold hearted. To even consider abandoning a little girl! But one just had to remember that he merely stated facts and looked to the company's best interest.

"I know this will sound a little foolish," Ike admitted, "but, Natsu asked me to keep her safe until the eclipse. I can't easily ignore a person's last request."

"But how long exactly will that be?" Boyd asked.

"From my understanding it happens every few years or so. The only problem is it's only visible in certain areas," Soren explained.

"Our scholars have been studying astronomy for some time now. Maybe they'll have more knowledge on eclipses." Geoffrey suggested.

Just then a healer walked out of the tent were the dying man was and tripped over some scattered weapons that caused him to fall with a loud crashing sound. It was certainly going to wake up the few who were asleep. The healer stood back up and walked to Geoffrey. "Wimarc is with the goddess, sir," he informed the knight.

Geoffrey sighed. "Go ahead and have some of the men bury him. There's no way we'll be able to get him to city with all our horses dead."

The healer nodded and hurried back to the tent just as Mist rushed out of the tent she and Leila shared. Her hair was tousled from the few minutes of sleep she got. "Ike, Leila's gone…again," she spoke in tired, yet worried, voice.

A few groans escaped some of people around the camp. There was absolutely no way someone could have snuck into their camp and kidnap her without them knowing. That meant the girl had wondered off…again. And Ike had a feeling he knew where.

"I could send some of my uninjured men to search for her," Geoffrey offered.

"No need," Ike said as he got to his feet. "I know where she. The rest of you get some sleep," he said as he began his unsteady pace down the path to where they had fought. She must have gone back to Natsu's body; that was his thinking. Ike was really beginning to wonder how she was able sneak around like a ghost.

But the ten minute walk from the battleground ended up taking a little longer because of his leg. The half-moon didn't give Ike much light but once his eyes adjusted to the darkness he was able to see the path well enough. Suddenly the shadows from the trees grew darker at a source of new light illuminated the distance. Ike's paced quicken when his nostrils were filled will smoke.

As the distance closed he saw that it was a large fire, remarkably not spreading to any of the nearby foliage, and a tiny silhouette sitting in front of it. Knowing who it was Ike let out a breath of relief and took the rest of the steps toward the figure. Leila didn't seem to notice his approach as she stared blindly into the dancing flames hugging her knees. By her side were some matches and sure enough her emerald eyes were glowing. She must have started a spark, quickly build it with her power, and was now keeping it contained.

But why did she start a fire to begin with?

The answer came when he saw what lay within the flickering flames, a body.

"In Lynn…" Leila spoke in a somber voice up causing Ike to jump a little, he guessed she did hear him, "it's tradition for warriors to burn once they die. That way…their souls can reach heaven."

_So she snuck back here to give Natsu a proper burial, _Ike thought as he took a seatnext to her. He noticed that the remaining form of the fallen warrior had his hands clasp over his chest, almost as if he were asleep. It must have taken a lot for Leila to do that with all the blood around. Placing his hand on her head and said, "I'm sure this pleases Natsu greatly to know you care so much about him to do this."

"I-I couldn't…" Leila choked as the tears began to slowly run down her checks making the light form the fire glisten. "I couldn't let the birds have at him!" She buried her face into her knees and cried harder causing the flames to burn more fierce.

Ike was tempted to move himself and Leila back from the heat but didn't. Instead he moved his hand down and started petting her back. He really wasn't sure what to say. Maybe what she need was to get all this out of her system.

They sat there for some time before her cries slowly became softer and the fire grew smaller with Natsu's body nearly gone. "I want to go home," she whimpered.

_There's a traitor in Lynn, _Natsu said before he died. Could he really let her go home after hearing that? But then…her father might do a better job of protecting her. "Leila…once we're done in the capital I'll take you back to Lynn. Just…wait a little while longer, okay?"

She didn't refuse or approve just kept her face buried in her skirt.

They sat there until the last of Natsu's remains burned away which caused the fire to die immediately. Ike was amazed that none of the grass was scorched. He was certain now that whoever was trying to capture her was after her power.

Just as they were about to leave the wind picked up that caused the ashes to swirl up in to the night sky.

* * *

"_Why…why would all of you lie to me about something so horrible?"_

"_I just have to ask, why would you come back being an assassin? You were forced to quite years ago because of your health. I know for a fact that it hasn't improved any."_

"_Daddy wanted me to know how to fight in case someone tried to kill me again."_


	7. Chapter 6

As you all can tell I'm moving my posting day to Saturday because I have started collage and my schedule will not allow weekday posting. Sorry for the wait, next time when I have free time I'll write instead of playing Skyrim. Hopefuly my schoolwork wont keep me too busy to write but I will apolizize in advance if you have to wait a month for the next chapter which I'll try not to. Thank you for your support and reveiws, keep 'em coming!  
Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 6

_I was deserving of the name "parentless". My father died in a hunting accident and mother followed him shortly after. But it was strange, I…I didn't miss them. I guess it's because I don't really remember what they even looked like. Back then I guess you could say I was pretty ignorant; but it's as they say, ignorance is bliss. I didn't really understand what I was. _

_Growing up in the cabin I was born in life was good. The nearby villagers brought food to me each day; to this day I can't decide if they were like that because they were scared I'd use some hidden power on them if they angered me (as if I really had any) or simply because my appearance was that of a child so they couldn't bring themselves to be cruel to a child. I'd spend my days in the woods or carve wood with papa's knife, or at least I thought the knife was his._

_The only thing I lacked was social interactions with people. My only friends were the forest animals. I'd have long conversations with them. But my life would change drastically, for the better, when someone I was bond to by blood came. _

_It was early one morning when a knock came from the door, which was strange because no one ever did. Once I opened the door I saw a hooded man in a cloak standing in front of me. "Your name's Satu, right?" The man asked me. _

Satu…Satu…_I though, it sounded vaguely familiar. Yeah…I think that was what mama called me. "Yes," I answered. _

_The man pushed me aside and walked in. I watched the man as he scanned the room like he looking for something. "Excuse me," I said being slightly annoyed at his rudeness, after all this was _my_ home. "But who are you?"_

_A sigh escaped the man as he took a seat at the table, "I suppose your mother wouldn't tell you anything about me. We did end things badly last time we spoke, so it doesn't surprise me that she would try to forget about me. I'm Natsu." He pulled his hood back to reveal long white hair and white cat ears. _

_The ears brought back memories from my early age. Yes…mama had ears like that. I remember when she held me up I could see ears on top of her blond hair. "So…you knew mama?" I asked taking a set next to him. I was a little interested to know more about her now the opportunity was here. What was she like before she became depressed?_

"_I knew her. The two of us had a falling out when she married your father and was pregnant with you. I was so angry at her that she would marry a beorc after my father die and throw away her pride as a laguz. The last thing I said to her was "You disgust me"," he told me and then was silent for a long while. Obviously he knew that mama was dead and was regretting never making amends with her. Then he said, "She was my mother too." I didn't quite understand what he was saying until he said, "We're brothers, or really…half-brothers."_

_The word "brother" was alien to me. What did it mean exactly? In years to come I would understand it as I began my life with my brother._

/~/~/

Rays of light escaped though the tree's canopy into Satu's closed eyes. He began to stir and greeted the morning air. The silver haired youth stretched out his limbs as he took in his surroundings. Up in the tree Satu saw the thin forest around him.

He rather like woods for some odd reason; they made him feel safe and at home. That's not to say he didn't like living with Natsu in the mountains. Satu just enjoyed trees more.

Thinking of Natsu he figured he had better get back to the others. It had been several days since he left to get supplies, they must be getting worried by now. So he untied the sash he used to keep himself from falling out of the tree and then climbed a little higher to retrieve the pack of food. With one leap he was on the ground and began running toward the meeting place. Natsu had ordered him to buy food shortly after they dumped Leila with those mercenaries. All of them felt bad about leaving her with strangers, especially Natsu. But really they had no choice. In Satu's opinion she was better off with them had they been forced to carry out with their mission. For the first time in weeks Satu had hope that they would survive this whole ordeal. Though…they would most likely become traitors of Lynn. But Satu told himself that everything would be alright with Natsu around. His older brother always knew what to do.

By the time he stopped to eat lunch he found his group's trail. He liked people he worked with. Like him they didn't really fit in with society. Talitha was a spirit charmer so that made her off the norm, Izzu brain didn't work properly, and Borka was orphaned shortly after the Medallion Massacre. So a branded child and a laguz with Lehran Madness would just add to it.

Satu frowned as he remembered how Natsu sickness came. He didn't witness his transformation but he was there to watch five guards wrestle a lion off a dead man he was mauling. It was gruesome to say the less the events of that day over twenty years ago. There wasn't a soul that lived though that day that didn't carry some kind of scar. Things only became worse when the soon to be king of Deain marched on their doorsteps practically the next day.

Regardless of what happened, Satu wasn't afraid of Natsu. He knew his brother had the power to kill him at any moment regardless if he ever touched the medallion. So there was really no point in worrying over it.

About two hours later Satu came upon the rest of the group minus Natsu. But Satu stopped in his tracks once he breathed in the atmosphere. It was sullen and full of grief. They instantly noticed the branded's arrival and caused them more heartache once they set eyes on him.

Talitha was sitting on a rock with swollen red eyes, Borka was leaning against a tree being unusually quiet, and Izzu was sitting on the ground, looking slightly confused but none the less sad. "Did something happen?" Satu asked.

Tears began to run down Talitha's cheek. Borka stepped forward and said, "We ran into that mercenary group again."

"And so you all were compelled to capture her," Satu finished. That must be where Natsu was, delivering Leila to the man that cursed them. That would explain why they were all sad, what they had done is inexcusable.

"Yes but…Leila's still safe…thankfully," Borka said.

"Then what's wrong? And where's Natsu?" Satu was really beginning to worry.

"Oh Satu!" Talitha suddenly wailed causing an echo in the forest. "Natsu's gone!" She sobbed harder, burying her face in her hands.

"W-what do you mean? Did he leave?" Part of him wanted to know yet the other, deep down, knew what they meant, he just wasn't sure if he wanted to hear it.

"He's dead, Satu," Borka told him.

He felt himself falling; it wasn't until he hit the ground that he realized that his legs had given out. He heard these words but they didn't process right. "You're lying," he murmured. He began shaking his head. "Why…why would all of you lie to me about something so horrible? Natsu…he has to come back!" He screamed at them.

"I thought you said the boss wasn't coming back?" Izzu asked sounding even more confused.

"He isn't big guy," Borka told him.

Satu wasn't paying attention as he sat numbly on the ground. _Natsu can't be…dead. There's no way, he's so strong. No one can beat me. _Suddenly a hand came and struck Satu in the cheek. He looked up and stared as Talitha stood over him with a tear streaked face looking furious and her red hair made her look more menacing. "How dare you even _think_ we'd jest about his death!" The spirit charmer yelled at him.

The young branded looked away in shame. Of course they wouldn't speak such. Especially Talitha, she loved him dearly. His brother was gone. He would never see him again. Natsu would never pat his head as he praised him for learning something or briefly laugh if he messed up a skill. He was the person who taught him how to read and write. "He's…he's dead," Satu forced himself to say. He felt a few tears run down from his eyes and Talitha quickly fell to her knees and embraced the youth as she continued to wail. Even though her cries and his own, Satu could still hear Borka fight back a whimper or two.

_Why, why does this hurt so much?_ He kept asking himself. His chest was tight and it ached. It didn't hurt when his parents died, so why now?

He pulled himself away from her and forced himself to his feet regardless if his legs protested to it. "How did he die?" He had to know what happened.

Talitha exchanged a glance at Borka but it was Izzu who answered. "The boss got mad again."

"He had the madness before he died. Don't tell me one of you…" Satu started, fearing that one of his dear friends took his only living relative away from him.

"Of course not!" Borka shouted angrily. "You know none of us would do that no matter how many times he begged!"

That's right. The few years after the incident had been the worst. Natsu had gone to the Grandmaster and begged him to take his life for fear he would kill many others. He of course said no but that didn't stop Natsu, he just went to others. To his victim's families, to his friends, he had even asked Satu to kill him. When no one would agree to do it he tried to do it himself like some many others who touched that damned medallion. But with the Grandmaster's help he managed to have a somewhat control over the demon that was inside him. He was much more cautions but he was like his old self. He put every fiber of his being into rebuilding and protecting Lynn so he could find some atonement, until they were all cursed.

"This blue haired knight in blue armor came dashing toward the boss and cut him in the neck. You of all people know what happens when the boss gets a whiff of blood," Borka explained.

Satu nodded. Somehow Natsu managed to block out distant smells making him smell like a beorc, but there was no way to block the smell of blood if it was right on him.

Borka continued, "Anyway, he was beat into submission. When he came to his senses he decided he wasn't going to be…you know whose slave anymore." Borka was clutching his chest, it would seem he was about to say the name of the man who cursed them when the pain it brought stopped him. That was one of the many things those that were cursed weren't allowed to do. "The boss was stubborn to the very end."

There was so much pain in Satu and it wasn't from curse, which was in fact active as he was thinking murderous thoughts about that man, it was pure anger. His brother had just been murdered in the most brutal way and there was no way he could avenge him. But he slowly began to realize something he could do. Take the life of the man who made Natsu smell blood, who made him go crazy just before he died. That blue haired knight.

"This knight, could you tell me anymore about him?" Satu asked sounding a little desperate.

"Well by his armor he looked like a royal guard and then he ordered his men around like he was a captain," Borka said then paused. "Wait you're not thinking about chasing after that guy, are you?"

"I am."

"Boss said we can't meet him in hell," Izzu said.

"Satu please," Talitha pleaded. "We've lost Natsu, we can't lose you too!"

"I'm sorry Tal, but this feeling…it hungers for that man's blood for what he did do my brother. You can't expect me to do nothing! I can't kill that man for the curse he placed on him, so don't deny me the knight; he made Natsu remember the sins he has done and he will pay dearly for that." He took off running away from them before any of them could stop him.

/~/~/

Back at the hideout everyone waited in anticipation for Nyoka and Kyle's return. Reinrag may have been dead but that still meant the kid failed and thus he may have allowed Lalat to escape. Surly with both Nyoka and Kyle on his trail they will return with news of his death. If not, then they were truly in danger of failing this mission.

The child was fully aware of what his failure has caused everyone and he was taking it hard. He almost refused when the female laguz offered to clean the wound on his wrist as he had done a poor job bandaging it with a torn part of his tunic. She hadn't realized she was coddling the child yet again until Ralik made a comment about it. She couldn't believe she was acting this way. But she guessed after she had been taking care of children for so many years now it had become natural for her.

Colin was obviously embarrassed by what Ralik said since he moved to the other side of room and refused to look her in the eye. She really should have refused the Grandmaster's request when asked her to take up the blade again. Why did he ask her and why did _she _accept?

As she contemplated her reason why she said yes her sensitive hearing picked up the sound of boots walking toward them; two pairs of them. Ralik heard it too as his attention turned to the door. Not long after the door opened revealing a silent yet frustrated Nyoka and a tired Kyle.

"Any luck?" Ghost asked.

Nyoka narrowed his eyes at the laguz meaning don't ask. Kyle plopped down onto a box with an exhausted sigh. "Who knew a coward could run so fast," he said. "We tracked him all the way out of the city and then he just disappeared."

Colin dropped his head, blaming himself for Lalat's escape. Nyoka's scolding eyes glanced at the kid for a second then turned his attention to everyone else. "There is cause for hope," he said as he pulled an arrow with a piece of green fabric out of his pouch. "At least Kyle managed to catch his scent. This seems to be your area of focus Ralik." He tossed the arrow to the wolf.

"Do I look like a bloodhound to you?" Ralik asked grimly as he caught it.

"Who else would track him by scent? Certainly not her," Nyoka pointed to the female laguz. "Even if she didn't have a target she still wouldn't be able to sniff him. Honestly, I've no idea why the Grandmaster chose you for this."

"That was a little cold, don't you think Nyoka?" Rhona questioned him.

"It's alright Rhona. It is the truth so I take no offence," she told her, although it did sting a little to hear it out loud. "Besides, I know all of are wondering the same thing."

"Anna, you know we would never think that," Ghost argued. "All of us know what you're capable of."

"I know," the laguz told him. "But that was years ago. Things have changed." She walked past them to the door but before she opened it she said, "Fear not, my target will die no matter what." And then she left leaving only the sound of a creaking door in her wake.

She was half way down the hall when the when a pair of feet began running up from behind her. "Hold up!" The voice of Ralik yelled after her. Anna stopped and turned to face him. "I just have to ask, why would you come back being an assassin? You were forced to quite years ago because of your health. I know for a fact that it hasn't improved any."

"I honestly don't know myself," she told him. "But Ralik, if something does happen to me…you'll take care of Tala, won't you?"

Ralik closed his eyes. "You don't have to worry about Tala; I'd give my life to protect her."

Turning her back to him she said, "Thank you."

She hadn't even taken two steps before the wolf spoke to her again. "Anna, if you don't make it back to Lynn you're going to cause Tala unimaginable pain, pain I won't be able to do anything about. Screw Nyoka; don't worry about killing the target if it puts your life at risk! Just back off and either I, or Kyle, or even that woman will take care of it."

Anna was taken aback by Ralik's concern for her. She knew that deep down that he cared for everyone but he was the type not to let that side show unless he was with Tala. Looking back at him she saw him looking just as surprised as she did after what he said. But she smiled one of her rare smiles at her old friend. It slightly saddened her that this could possibly be last she ever saw of him but at the same time blissful to finally see the Ralik Tala always saw. Now she knew for certain that her dear sister would be taken care of once she was gone. "Then if I'm to do what you say, Nyoka will surely be angry with me. But I'm sure he will be less angry if you do as he says and don't piss him off like you normally do."

A groan escaped the black wolf. "I hate the smell of beorc," he grumbled.

With that she continued to walk away, determined she wouldn't stop if some else called after her. It would just be harder to look at the faces of those she held dear and not know if she will see them again. This was no suicide mission; it was only a matter of her health. She would do all she could to survive but one can only cheat death so many times.

But there was one thing Ralik was wrong about. Yes, Tala would be sad about her death but she had been prepared since the two of them were both cubs that she would die so it wouldn't be a surprise for her or anyone else for that matter. However, there was one person who she hadn't prepared for this.

As she was near the exit she realized why she accepted the Grandmaster's proposal; Leila. The child knew she had health problems but Anna never informed her that they were life threatening. If Anna were to die on a mission then Leila would never know and she would never have to tell her.

Walking through the opening to the sunlight Anna slightly laughed to herself. She was such a coward; she couldn't bring herself to tell a child the truth.

/~/~/

After so many setbacks the mercenaries and the royal knights finally made it to Melior with a day before the ceremony. But hardy any of them were fit enough to defend her highness or anyone else for that matter. Thankfully Ike wasn't limping any more. The last thing he needed was Titania or even her Highness worrying over him.

When the guards saw them approach the castle they quickly lead them into the throne room. Ike had hoped to just meet with Elincia first to explain what had happened to them all and then inform the rest of his company about Natsu. But life doesn't work out like you plan. Instead when they walk into the throne room they are interrupting the rehearsal ceremony.

A few noblemen stood around Queen Elincia, several guards as well as some of Ike's own mercenaries were stationed all around the room, and then there were several laguz from Gallia, some Ike recognized. All eyes were on them and their poor state. _Damn it, _Ike thought. Now that all these people have seen them they were going to demand an explanation and he hadn't planned on sharing all the details with a whole lot of people. Plus these nobles wanted any reason in the world to put an end to the laguz friendship Elincia had been working on restoring and telling them they were attacked by one would be music to their ears.

"Ike! Geoffrey! What in the name of the goddess happen to you?" Elincia exclaimed form her spot.

The two men exchanged a glance at one another. Just what were they going to say?

"It's incredibly embarrassing to say the least," Soren said causing all eyes to turn to him. Ike should have expected that his tactician would have an explanation. "But if you must know, we got ambushed by a bunch of stupid bandits."

Shinon and Boyd turned their heads away which was perfect since it made it look like they were ashamed of the truth. Ike stole a glance to Titania who gave a slight nod at him. She knew exactly what Soren was saying. Her attention quickly changed to Leila who was being uncharacteristically quiet.

"You mean to tell me that our very own trained knights and the group of sellswords that ended the war were best by common thieves?" Some nobleman who was standing next to Elincia spoke. He was possibly in his forties with short dark brown hair. This man was dressed much similar to the other nobles in white robes but he had a sword strapped to his belt.

"Did you miss the part where we said we were ambushed?" Ike asked in a hostile tone. Who were these higher ups to judge them when they themselves have never set foot in their shoes? Although the man that had spoken may know a little bit as he looked to be a man that was familiar with combat.

Before Ike could say anything more, Geoffrey elbowed him in the ribs to keep him quite as he said, "Forgive us, Lord Mailliw. But we're here and ready to do our duty to protect the capital and her Highness from any more attacks."

"You better be. There was another murder last night, captain," Mailliw said.

"Another one?"

"Yes, so I expect security to be so tight that not even a rodent will be able get in!" Mailliw exclaimed as he led the rest of the nobility out of the throne room, obviously the rehearsal was over.

"Who's that guy supposed to be?" Ike asked in a low tone to Geoffrey.

"He's Mailliw, a lord form Tarreftnom. Recently he'd been appointed to be Queen Elincia's advisor."

Others were making their way out as well leaving only those who fought together in the war. With fewer distractions around Ike looked at Elincia for the first time since her coronation. She was wearing a puffy orange dress and her green hair was done up in an elaborate bun. Though recent events seem to be wearing her out she seemed to be adjusting to her role as queen well. He'd been a little worried that she wasn't.

"I for one am overjoyed to see all of you well," Elincia expressed them.

"Yeah, same here," he said which caused the two to stare at one another for some time.

Until Bastian cleared his throat making the two of them aware of the people around them. "I hate to interrupt but we have pressing matters we need to discuss."

"Same here Bastian," Geoffrey told him. "We ah… ran into something that was a concern during the war."

"I definitely want to hear more about how mere thugs got the best of you," a certain cat laguz smirked as he walked past Ike.

"Let's discus this more privately," Lucia suggested making her way to a room on the side. Ike motioned Leila to follow him and that was the first time everyone else began to notice the small girl that was behind him. "Who's this child?"

Leila didn't introduce herself instead just stared blankly at the floor like she was shy which he knew that wasn't the case. "Her name's Leila," Ike answered for her. "She's been traveling with us for some time now."

Bastian looked her over. "Sorry, but do you mind if she sets out? I'd rather people I know for certain we can trust to hear this."

"Right." Ike looked down at the girl and ruffled her black hair. There was a certain fondness Ike had for her; she was like another little sister to him. "We won't be too long." But then he thought about all the things that had happened to her when nobody was around to watch her. There was no telling what she could get into…and in a castle in high alert.

Thankfully Mist was thinking the same thing as she grabbed her arm and began pulling her away. "Come on Leila, I'll show you around. Mordecai, you come to," she said once she passed the large tiger laguz. He looked unsure whether to follow or not but did anyway.

Ike relaxed knowing Mordecai was with them. He wasn't sure if Natsu's group was coming back after them or if others were. The way Natsu spoke before he died it sounded like there were more conspiring to do…whatever was going on that they would want a little girl for.

Once everyone was inside Ike began telling very briefly about their first encounter with Natsu and then the events of yesterday; the encounter with them, Lehran's Madness, even Natsu's violent death. Everyone's face when he told them about Natsu going crazy looked the same as theirs when it happened.

"Lehran Madness…don't tell me it's the same as the Medallion?" Elincia asked once they were done with their tale.

"We don't know for certain," Ike admitted, "but it can't be a coincidence either." To think there was another object out there that could turn the most caring individual into a blood thirsty killer just added to Ike's already rising stress level.

"And you're saying that little girl knows about it?" Bastian inquired. "What all did she say about it?"

"Not much," Soren answered. "All she informed us of was his condition. But…she spoke as if there were more people like him."

"That's horrible," Titania gasped. Ike knew she was thinking about his father.

"You all do realize the little brat probably knows more than she's telling, right?" Shinon chimed in.

That actually had crossed Ike's mind; after all she was the type that wouldn't tell you anything unless you asked about it specifically. But after the whole ordeal with Natsu, there never seemed to be a good time to bring back what Ike would imagine to painful memories. "I'll agree that she probably does. But it can't be too much. If it was Lehran's Medallion that was in her town she couldn't have been alive since it had been in my family's care since before I was born."

"I believe it has become apparent to question her for all she knows," Soren declared.

"Before you do that you all should know that there were two more murders. A merchant named Rimat and the healer from Begnion, Reinrag of Esuolpan," Lucia informed them.

"Two more?" Geoffrey repeated in disbelief. "Was it the same person who killed Djam?"

"That we're not sure of," Bastian explained. "For whatever reason the assassin decided he had stage fright and so his performance was not seen by anyone. We questioned every guard on duty during the murders but they saw nothing. It's like this guy is a ghost, coming and going as he pleases and vanishing without a single trace. Now there are four dead."

Geoffrey looked as if he realized something. "Ike, when Leila disappeared last night, or this morning or whatever, Mist had said "again". Just how many times has she gone off on her own?"

"Do you have enough time to hear about them all?" Shinon responded.

"Only a few times," Ike admitted as he shot a glare at the archer. "But what has that got to do with anything?"

"Come on, how is a small child able to sneak past highly trained soldiers without us noticing?" Geoffrey questioned. "I'll admit I didn't want to believe she could take out five grown men but after what she did to that lion I'm willing to believe it."

"Just what are suggesting Geoffrey?" Titania asked.

"I'm not suggesting anything," he defended. "I'm simply wondering how a girl her age is capable of doing this. The archer is right, she knows more than she's telling and we need to find out what."

"If you're going to question her, I'm going too," Ike declared.

"You're too close to her Ike. You can't think rationally. What if it turns out she's in league with these assassins? What will you do then?"

"All the more reason for me to be there. She trusts me, so it'll be easier for her to talk with someone she knows whether than some random knight. No matter what she may be involved in she's still a scared little girl," Ike lied; he just needed to have a good reason to accompany the questioning.

"Fine, let's go ask her now," Geoffrey announced as he began heading out the door after he gave his leave to Elincia.

Ike followed after the knight which caused both Titania and Soren to follow after him. "I'm coming to make sure you two hotheads don't overstep the boundaries," she said when he gave her a questioning look.

Geoffrey led them down the hall Mist had gone. After a few turns and asking some of the guards they finally found Mist, Mordecai, and Leila outside in the garden.

Leila was crouched on the ground with an O shape mouth as she stared at the flowers with interest. Mordecai was next to her pointing to them, probably telling her the names of them. She seemed like she did when they first met her, it sickened Ike knowing they were going to make her remember something unpleasant. It almost seemed cruel.

Mist noticed them first as did Mordecai, Leila was a little slow to catch on. "Sorry to interrupt," Geoffrey said. _Not sorry at all, _Ike couldn't help but think. "We need to ask Leila a few things. So if you don't mind," he motioned for her to follow them.

She looked unsure at the knight but soon spotted Ike who gave her a weak smile. Seeing this she got up and followed them to the other side of the garden. Out of earshot of everyone else Leila sat down on a bench and looked up at them with a grin. "So what did you need to ask me?"

Before Geoffrey had a chance to talk Ike said, "We just wanted to ask you about Lynn."

"Oh, are you interested in coming to Lynn? It's a really pretty place up in the mountains and you have a nice view of everything when you on the edge but you have to be careful or you'll fall off the edge, and that's no fun at all. "

"Not really. We were just wondering if Lynn has some kind of special soldiers or something?" Geoffrey started by asking.

Leila looked a little confused by the question. "I don't really know much about it. But I do know Lynn has to be well protected because we don't belong to any kingdom. Captain Natsu always-" But she stopped herself as she remembered what happened yesterday and her face fell to the ground looking as it had been for the last twenty-four hours.

Geoffrey got eye level with her and grabbed her hand. "I know this will be tough but I have to ask this because this could concern us all," he said gently to her which surprised Ike. "Can you tell us more about this madness? Like how it started or how many have it?"

"I don't know much because daddy would never tell me how it happened, part of me thinks he doesn't fully understand how it happened either," she said simply. "Nor do I know exactly how many have it because some died shortly after; they killed themselves when they realized what they had done. All I know is that one day a medallion ended up in the market and people started to touch it and start killing one another." Everyone was silent as they exchanged glances at one another. There was no how many hands could have touched it if it was in a market place. Dozens of people could be going crazy by the time people realize it was the medallions doing. "Are we done?" She asked.

"Just one more question," Geoffrey told her, "how is you know how to fight?"

Her eyes were wide and she stayed quiet for a long while. Then they fell and in a shaky voice she said, "Daddy wanted me to know how to fight in case someone tried to kill me again."

"Again? Someone tried to kill you before?" Ike asked. Hesitantly she nodded and then began pulling her shirt up causing the guys to turn red and stuttering to protest this. But to their relief she was only showing her stomach which had a wide scar that probably ran all the way to her shoulder by the way it was angled. "Did…did Natsu do that?"

"No," she said softly as her shirt fell back down.

"Then who did?"

There was another pause until she said, "A monster."

/~/~/

"_Who am I to judge who can or can't. Me, who has lost all right to call myself laguz still fights. With a blade I will slay anyone who will harm Lynn and with my body I will shield it from any attack."_

_She held out a small, dark sphere in her hand that had a wick at the end of it. "Before you say anything there's not enough time to think of a safer plan, not if we want the queen to survive."_

"_Let us see your murderess face!"_


	8. Chapter 7

I am so sorry. This was a little rushed but hopefully it's not too bad. Can't say when the next one will come but surly not as long as this one.  
Also if you don't mind, I have poll on my profile that may or may not have anything to do with my next story. Maybe next two stories. We'll see.

* * *

Chapter 7

_My name used to be slave number 56. Our master refused for us to have names since that would just make us like people and that was the last thing we were to him. But we would have our nicknames for one another. Nicknames that even our master would call us by because they were really characteristics of us. I'm not really sure how old I was when I was given the name Ghost. Although at first I hated the name because of how easily I was overlooked; I could be standing right in front of someone and they still couldn't see me. But very quickly I realized that this was a gift because I could hide from our master when he felt like taking his anger out on one of us. _

_Others would have argued that this was a blessing from the goddess but I'm not much of the religious type. After all, if she really cared about us why would she allow some of us to become slaves? _

_It's true I'm a heron laguz, one of the most valued of all slave laguz. But I was worthless, hardly worth ten gold pieces. I wasn't as they would say a "pure blood" heron, in fact I'm a third generation slave born heron that had been mix breeding with other laguz. Because of that I'm slightly tougher than other herons but we still didn't last long in the poor conditions we lived in. _

_All that I knew about my parents was what others had told me about them. My father was a crow who had tried to escape causing an arrow to pierce his heart and my sickly mother died giving birth to me and my twin sister._

_I could have easily escaped, there were just two problems: 1) I wouldn't know where to go and 2) I couldn't leave my sister Sky behind. It became less possible when she fell ill. _

_I tried to do her work and my own so she wouldn't get in trouble for it. But our master eventually found out and not only was I beaten for it but Sky was denied her food rations. So I would give her part of mine even though that wasn't enough. _

_At night when I'd fall asleep next to her I'd be afraid I'd wake up to her dead. If she died a part of me would die with her and I knew my time wouldn't be far behind. But Sky was tough, tougher than me. She fought her illness every day and told me she wouldn't be beaten by it. But soon I too began to fall ill, not as fast as Sky did._

_Back then death scared the hell out of me and I hoped Sky and I could go together. With both of us not working we wouldn't receive any rations. Thankfully a green haired, tiger laguz was somehow able to sneak extra food out to us; in fact I don't think either of us would have survived had it not been for that laguz. Sadly we never learned his name._

_I drifted in and out of consciousness so many times I'm not sure how much time passed but when I finally woke up I was in a white room in an actual bed. My first thought was that I was dead and I was in the afterlife but then I realized that I still felt like I did before I went to sleep. I had to still be alive. Then I horrible realization hit me. Where was Sky?_

_Sitting up with a jolt was a bad idea as I soon felt like dizzy, but I had to if I wanted to find Sky. As I began pushing my frail body out of the bed I noticed others in the room. Some were in beds while others stood around. Seeing me moving one of them rushed over and began to push me back into the bed. I swatted their hands away both out of urgency to find Sky and repulsion that a human was touching me. But being a sick heron a child could easily overpower me. Regardless, I struggled._

"_Enough!" A stern voice ordered making the person release me. I looked at this man who was old with a long, thin beard. But a warning ran though my wings, something about this man was different; like he wasn't supposed to be there. He was no laguz, that was for sure, but he wasn't a human either. Just what was he? This man walked closer to me which just made my feathers stand on ends. "Fear not, your sister is well, she is simply in isolation. The two of you were at death's doors when we arrived."_

_He introduced himself as Adish, Grandmaster of Lynn. My former master had bought some of the people that were from Lynn as slaves and he refused to sell them back no matter how much the Grandmaster offered to pay. Then he made the threat to turn the rest of the people into slaves and so he was struck down. With him dead we were all free._

_Free? I never thought I would hear the word let alone know how it feels. But what was I going to do now?_

_Then the Grandmaster explained to me that all the other slaves went their separate ways and since Sky and I were dying he brought us back here to receive the proper treatment and once we get our strength back they would take us to Serenes Forest, home of the heron laguz. I wasn't sure how to respond, I didn't even thank the Grandmaster, and so I just sat there._

_I recovered in no time at all, but Sky was a different story. Because she had been sick for so long she became much weaker. It took several years for her to actually make any progress. _

_During that time my view on things changed. At first I hated Lynn just because humans and laguz lived together. I guess I held bitterness for all humans after how my slave master treated us and I think even to this day I still feel that but I slowly began to call them beorcs. Lynn will have that effect on people, it just grows on you._

_But once Sky recovered enough to fly Serenes Forest was destroyed and all the herons murdered. It's bad to say but I didn't really feel anything for the loss of my fellow kinsmen, the only thing I felt was worry because that had been our plan; to go and live in Serenes. Probably since Sky was the only other heron I knew._

_However I didn't really worry for too long because I realized maybe Sky and I could live here in Lynn. I had watched warriors during their training exercises several times, perhaps I could become one and then I could support my sister and me since we had been living at the mercy of everyone. _

_So when the Grandmaster called me to meet with him in his office I decided to take the opportunity to ask about that. I told him my intention to remain in this town and he seemed pleased by it and asked what I planned to do to establish myself here. That was when I told him I wanted to learn how to fight…and he laughed._

_He laughed for some time but stopped he realized I was being serious. "A heron were not born to fight," he said. "I cannot allow you to do that."_

_I gritted my teeth as I said, "I am no normal heron. I was born a slave and have worked all my life." I fell out of my chair to my knees. "Please, allow me to repay you for setting my sister and me free. We can never repay you for all you have done for us!" _

_The Grandmaster stepped back from his desk and looked out the large wind behind him. "I will agree, you are no normal heron. But there is no reason for you to force yourself to do something out of your nature just to settle a debt with me. There are many other occupations that would be more acceptable for you."_

_I slammed my fist into the ground showing my anger, even though I may have broken a finger or two. But I wouldn't show this sign of pain. "Do not judge me by what I am but what I can do!" I shouted._

_He was quite for a while and I notice that he was clutching a small statue on the windowsill. It looked like a dragon but it was shaped like a serpent with legs._

"_You're right," he said softly and turned to face me. "Who am I to judge who can or can't. Me, who has lost all right to call myself laguz still fights. With a blade I will slay anyone who will harm Lynn and with my body I will shield it from any attack. I will not deny you of this but I stand by what I said earlier, you will not fight."_

_I was about to protest but the Grandmaster waved his hand. "What you'll be doing is much more rigorous; once your training is done you will think your time as a slave was cakewalk. You will become what your name is. Become a ghost on our enemies and find out their secrets. I will ask once more, do you want to become the eyes and ears for Lynn?"_

/~/~/

A boot came in contact with the heron's side, waking him up instantly. "Damn homeless person falling asleep next to my shop." A gruff voice said that had to belong to the kicker.

Ghost rubbed his side, nothing was broken and he almost wanted to laugh because he had been kicked much harder when he was a kid. Instead he forced a smile under his hood and said, "My apology." And the laguz got up and walked out of the alley, which was beside a butcher shop, without looking at the man once. He hadn't realized that when he fund this spot to catch up on some much need sleep. He hadn't slept any during the whole Reinrag business and he was certainly not going to fall asleep around any of the others.

It may not have been the wake up he wanted but it worked, he had to meet up with Anna. So once he was away the heron very quickly slipped down another and instantly scaled up the building till he was on the roof. From there he leaped rooftop to rooftop with such ease he didn't need his wings.

The Grandmaster had been right; his training had been to hardest years of his life. He broke every bone in his body at _least_ five times. It still sent chills down his spine when he thought about the time when his instructor tied his wings together so he couldn't fly and had him do what he was doing now. Needless to say he fell several times and shattered his body. Now his sister was going through this training and was close to completing it. It was funny, she described it the same way he did; a living hell. But in Ghost's opinion it was worth it.

Very soon he spotted a familiar white figure standing on a roof looking toward the castle that was just a few buildings away from the capital. He came up silently behind her but he knew this person would know it was him. The figure leaned against the chimney and said, "You're late."

Ghost just shrugged the comment away. Anna may not tease him about him sleeping like the others would but still. "So do you have a plan?"

Anna reached into her pouch and pulled out an object. She held out a small, dark sphere in her hand that had a wick at the end of it. "Before you say anything there's not enough time to think of a safer plan, not if we want the queen to survive."

The heron knew his eyes were wide. _Is she being serious? _That meant she planned to attack during the ceremony! That kind of stupid suicide plan might work for Ralik but with Anna's health problem…He didn't care if she did succeed, all he care about was her survival. And with this kind of plan her chances were slim. What surprised him was that she would even consider such a plan; she was always the careful one! But he sighed; there was no point in arguing with her. She did have a point; there was no more time to plan, not if the queen was to live another day.

"I'm just rather surprised you'd even consider this course of action," he finally replied. He too reached into his pouch only he pulled out a mask. It was just a plain white one with a straight mouth and small round eyes. "If you're going to attend a ceremony then it'll be best to make absolute sure people can't tell what you are." Ghost tossed the mask to her.

She examined it. "You didn't give Ralik one on his mission."

"Ralik never cleared his plan with me. Did you all honestly think I'd be okay with what he did?" Ghost didn't wait for a response and began to walk away. Once he was at the edge ready to jump he stopped. Without looking at her said, "I expected to see you back at the hideout when this is all over."

He heard an amused sound coming from her. "Perhaps we should pray to the goddess for success."

Ghost couldn't help but chuckle, "You know I'm not the religious type. Besides, I don't think she'd listen to me." The heron leapt off the roof and as he descended to the ground he thought, just for a moment, that he might just make an exception this one time.

/~/~/

"This just stinks. We come all this way just to babysit the brat," Shinon complained as he reclined his chair to two legs.

"Well what did you expect?" Titania asked sitting across from him with her poleax within arm's reach. "You're in no condition period to fight if something happens at the ceremony. Besides, someone has to watch Leila for obvious reason."

Ike had left them, Boyd and Mist to watch Leila. She wouldn't be allowed in the ceremony and even if she were it would be best if she wasn't in case there were people still after her. With Geoffrey's men here Ike could spare a few to watch over Leila. They stayed at a nearby inn and at the moment Leila was still in one of the rooms. It was still morning so they just let her sleep.

"Anyways, the ceremony should be starting now." Titania said.

"I'll go see if Leila's awake," Mist suggested and got up to go to the room. But once she opened it her shoulders dropped as did her head.

"The window's open isn't?" Shinon inquired.

"Yeah," she said weakly causing everyone but Titania to let out a groan.

The red head looked at the three of them, "How many more times has this happened?"

"Too many to count," Boyd mumbled.

Without warning Shinon stood up from his chair and marched toward the door. "Next time this happens the little brat better be captured or so help me…" Shinon didn't finish his sentence as he stormed out of the room causing Boyd and Mist to follow after him. Titania grabbed her axe, just in case, and rushed after the others. If Shinon got to her first there would be no telling what he'd say to her.

As they exited the inn they began their search by the window the young girl had climbed from, which was rather impressive that Leila could do that for her age seeing as they were on the third floor. They began down the street, asking anyone and everyone if they had seen a little girl matching Leila's description. Many just shook their heads and continued on their way.

But a stable hand came up to them saying he say someone that looked like Leila. He said he had been cleaning the stalls out in the stable by the inn when by chance he looked up and saw a little girl hanging out the window. Before he had a chance to call out to her she lost her grip and thankfully fell into the pile of hay. Just as he ran over to make sure she was alright she sprinted out of the hay and took off toward the castle.

Titania thanked him and the four of them made their way toward the castle. Once at the gates they asked the guards and asked if they had seen Leila to which they answered no.

_So where would Leila go? _Titania wondered. Was it somewhere that just sparked her curiosity or was it something she couldn't tell them about? As things stand now, she was leaning toward the first option. She must be in this area and if she didn't go through the gate then it was probably safe to say she wasn't in the castle. But as Titania looked at the wall that surrounded it she became a little uncertain. But then again security was tighter than ever, she had made sure of that yesterday. There could be no way a little girl could get past a whole army.

So they spread out in order to cover more ground, with the four of them one of them should be able to find her. Although Titania still worried about Shinon finding her first she no longer cared if it meant finding Leila.

It may have been an hour later when the red paladin looked down an alley way and spotted a girl with the same profile as Leila.

The girl saw her and began smiling and waving. It was Leila alright. "Good morning Titania!" Leila said in a cheerful tone.

"Leila, what are you doing out here?"

Her face did something it had never done before; eyes were wide, mouth was twitching as if struggling to form a syllable, and her whole body went stiff. After she was released from this trance she began nervously tapping her fingers together and looking at them instead of the paladin. "I-I…I just…went for a walk."

Titania folded her arms and eyed the girl. "Now Leila, I can tell you're lying. Want to try that again."

Leila shifted her weight on her other leg and then looked up at the roof. "I…I thought my friend was here but…I guess that was just my imagination."

A sigh escaped Titania's lips; she knew it was the first option. She closed the distance between them and placed her hand on her shoulder. "Look, you can't just run off when you please. At the very least you have to tell us where you are going. Didn't your parents ever teach you that?" But as soon as she said that she wished she could have taken that back. After all, this was the girl who ran away from home.

"Oh, daddy taught me that…I just…forget sometimes," she said so causally.

"Well come on, there are a few people who are worried about you. Let's show them you're still alive."

/~/~/

"Everything's clear on our end, sir," a soldier reported into Geoffrey.

He nodded, "Good, keep me posted." The soldier saluted and left the armory. Geoffrey turned to Ike and said, "So far so good."

"Do you really think these assassins will try anything?" Ike asked. "If I were in their shoes I'd be a little concerned about attacking." Grant it, Ike didn't quite understand assassins regardless of working with Volke during the war. Then again if someone scraped together enough gold the fireman would most certainly try, whether he'd succeed or not was entirely different story.

"Who knows, but I'd rather be safer than sorry."

"Well, have you been able to find a connection between all the men that have been killed? If you knew who they were targeting you'd just have to protect them, right?" Ranulf asked from the corner of the room. Somehow Ike forgot the laguz was here.

"It certainly would. Bastian has been working day and night trying to find something but these men didn't even seem to know each other." Geoffrey answered. "Anyway, shouldn't you be getting ready for the ceremony?"

The cat shrugged. "That's technically Giffca's job. I'm really just here to raise the laguz beorc ratio. Besides, I couldn't take listening to those nobles complain about the bird tribe being late."

"Wait, I thought this was just between Crimea and Gallia," Ike admitted.

"No, the ceremony's all about recognizing the laguz help we received during the war. We sent word to both the hawk and crow tribes and they said they were coming but they have yet to show up," Geoffrey explained. "Weren't you told all of this when you accepted this job?"

"The messenger only said Gallia," Ike defended.

"I'm willing to bet that the messenger thought all laguz came from the same place," Ranulf said but then added with a humorous tone, "Oh well, at least we knew you'd come regardless."

Ike just shook the cat's comments away. "You don't suppose something happened to them? It's not like them to be late," He worried especially since there wasn't really anywhere the bird tribe couldn't go.

"I doubt it," Geoffrey said but then added, "…but it is a little troubling. I know this is just pure paranoia that drives me to say this but I can't help but wonder if their absence is connected to the murders."

"You to worry like old ladies," Ranulf told them sounding a little irritated. "If anything, the hawks and the crows probably just got into a little squabble."

"Right," Ike mumbled. That seemed like likely. Besides, Ike couldn't picture an assassin taking out the hawk king anytime soon.

Suddenly the door and Geoffrey's sister, Lucia, poked her head in. "There you are," she said as she entered the armory with her hands on her hips. Sword was strapped on her side with her left hand just barely an inch away. "What are you all doing in here? The ceremony is starting already."

In just a few strides Geoffrey reached the door. "Sorry," he said to her, "Just some last minute preparation."

Ike and Ranulf quickly followed after the two siblings down the winding corridor until the throne room. Up in front on the slightly raised platform stood Elincia, her guard, some noblemen, the laguz representatives, and her adviser who was right next to her. The last of the citizens entered and the giant doors were closed behind them. Geoffrey and Lucia merged in with the others of Elincia's guard, Ranulf blend in with his fellow laguz, and Ike, when he spotted where the majority of his were, joined them. Soren, Mia, Oscar, and Rhys stood near the back, Gatrie was placed by the main doors, and Rolf was up on the second floor with the rest of the archers.

The kid looked uneasy being up there with men who had probably worked with a bow longer then he had been alive, although that wouldn't have been a problem if Shinon was here. But Ike had full confidence in him; his marksmanship had really grown during the war.

"You're late boss!" Mia exclaimed which cased those around her to shush her. But she paid no mind to it as she retained the same bright expression.

"Well, I'm here now at least," he told her. Then he turned to Soren, "Everything cleared?"

"All possible entries have guards stationed and all the guest have been checked for anything lethal, although the occasional knife did pop up but they were quickly confiscated," the young tactician reported.

"So now all that's left is to hope and pray nothing happens," Rhys added.

"No kidding. All of you know what to do. Stay sharp," Ike said to them as they branched out into the crowd. Their job was to get a view from below.

After some time passed, the crowd fell silent as Elincia stepped forward and began by welcoming everyone. She went on but Ike really wasn't paying attention, not because it was boring but because he felt something really bad was coming. It kind of felt like a storm was coming. He scanned the room, for what he wasn't sure. The others noticed this and began looking for anything out of place.

"-not only have our laguz neighbors fought against Daein but also-"

Something caught Ike's eye up in the rafter, like a gleam from a weapon. But when Ike looked up all he saw was the ceiling. Was all of this just a case of nerves? No he was sure she saw something. But then again he hadn't gotten a proper nights rest since that fight with Natsu. Maybe fatigue was finally getting to him.

"-we'll move forward with our new friends as my dear father and uncle dreamed to one day. If they were here today-"

There it was again but this time it was a shadow on the second floor. It could have just been a soldier but there was something about the way it moved. Ike very slowly began making his way in front of the crowd.

"-peace is what I strive for this country to achieve. Therefore-"

Suddenly a small orb rolled in front of the queen and for a moment no one seemed to notice. But when Elincia paused and a hissing sound reached everyone's ears and caused everyone to fall dead silent. A wick stuck out on the end of the orb and was very quickly shortening by a spark.

Before anyone could do anything the last bit of the wick was burnt away and Elincia, the people around her, and even the laguz were swallowed by a cloud of smoke.

The civilians were immediately thrown into a frenzy trying to escape whatever was going on; making it extremely difficult for the knights and the mercenaries to get a grasp for the situation.

"Some of you get these people out of here!" Ike shouted to the nearest knight. Worrying about everyone in the smokescreen so he turned back to his group, "Soren-" but the mage was already on it even though he was being pushed and shoved by people. His tome was open and after a short incantation a strong breeze entered the room. Within seconds the smokescreen was being lifted away leaving people on their knees coughing and gasping for breath. There was only one person that was left standing and it wasn't someone who was up there before the smoke.

This person was clad in white clothes with a hood and a mask covering his whole face. Only this guy's right sleeve was stained red and was standing over a bloody Mailliw. Once everyone who was in the cloud finally got enough fresh air they realized the assassin was in their midst. And Elincia was right next to him; she even had some of Mailliw's blood on her the assassin only gave her a passing glance as he dashed toward the crowd.

"Get him!" Geoffrey ordered as he tried to get on his feet but couldn't.

The assassin leapt off the three steps and his feet connected the nearest guard's face. Once they fell the assassin rolled forward and landed in the middle of the soldiers. He didn't surrender, instead began fighting.

Ike took the opportunity to check on Elincia and the others. He reached the queen first who was still on her knees. "Are you alright, Elincia?"

She nodded. "Yes, but…I can't move my legs."

"Since when do you get this scared?" Ike asked her.

"It's not like that!" She stated. "My legs just won't move."

Looking at the others he noticed no one else was getting up. Just what the hell was in that smoke? Then he saw the laguz, they were on all fours. They seemed all right but something was wrong with them.

Once some knights placed themselves between the assassin and Elincia, Ike went over to Ranulf. "What's wrong with you all?" Ike asked Ranulf.

"I don't know," the cat said. "I just can't transform."

"Nor can I," Giffca added.

_What?_ How was something like that even possible? This was not good and their situation got worse when Ike looked back to see that the assassin had fought off half of the soldiers. He was unscratched but thankfully none of them seemed to be dead; just unconscious and some minor injuries that Rhys was already tending to. The only ones left to fight were his group.

Oscar swung his lance at the assassin but he simply caught the side of with one hand and punched square in the chest with the other. As Oscar fell backward the assassin ripped the weapon out of his grips and used it to trip Mia who was coming up from behind him. Then thrust the blunt end of the lance in Soren's gut, cutting off the incantation.

Now Gatrie was the only one left standing but before anything could happen, Ike was there with his sword out and brought it down on the guy. Only he was able to deflect most of the blow with his lance. It was sliced in half but the assassin was unharmed. He regained his stance and repositioned his hands on the broken weapon. Ike and Gatrie continued attacking but nothing as hitting the assassin, in fact a few times Ike had hit Gatrie but it was thankfully it was the armor he hit.

For a moment the assassin was still like he debating on whether to fight or flee. Before he made a decision Gatrie charged at him but the assassin dropped down and used the lethal one and cut a deep gash in his thigh causing him to fall to one of his knees. Then he threw the other one at Ike. It seems he decided on flight.

But out of nowhere, Ranulf had grabbed him from behind and tried to hold him still. However he was somehow thrown off and landed on Ike. Both of them scrambled off of each other as fast as they could but the assassin was already heading toward the unguarded exit.

Then by fortune an arrow soared through the air and inserted itself in the assassin's shoulder causing him to fall hard to the ground. He was surrounded by knights with spears pointed at him before he could get to his feet.

Ike looked up at the archers to see which one did it and to his amazement it was Rolf. The young archer was fixed in the same position when he released an arrow and all the other archers stared at him in disbelief.

A knight came with irons and clamped them on the assassin's wrist behind his back. Then two of them dragged him to the front where Elincia and the others were now managing to stand. His white tunic was now becoming more stained red as blood was running down his back.

There were a few civilians who had remained and they began to crowd around, but at a safe distance, to witness.

Once the knights forced the assassin to his knees, Geoffrey and Bastian came forward. "Let us take a look at that murderess face of yours," Geoffrey said as he began to reach for the mask. But the assassin pulled back and began shaking his head.

"I would think you've lost the right to remain faceless after what you've done," Bastian told him.

As Geoffrey pulled off the mask one of the knights that had a firm hold on him pulled the hood off. The room was filled with gasps; the assassin wasn't a _he_ but a _she_.

Her mouth and nose was covered by another mask and had long silver hair in a lose braid that was coming lose. Then there were her golden eyes that looked at them with no fear. But that wasn't why Bastian hurriedly pulled the hood back over her head; she had ears. There weren't cat, Ike knew that, but they looked like wolf ears. Was there really another species of laguz Ike had never heard of?

Regardless the damage had been done. Everyone had seen her ears. And they were going to talk about how a laguz killed Mailliw.

"Get her out of here," Bastian hissed at the knight who immediately began dragging her toward the dungeon. The uninjured soldiers began guiding the rest of the people out but Ike's eyes were on the assassin or more importantly on her waist. There was a sash tied around her that he hadn't noticed till then. It was green around her but the part that was tied was dyed two different colors; black and red. Leila's words echoed in his head. "_See in Lynn, when someone close to you dies you take a white sash and dye it a certain color. Like if your father dies you dye it black, if it's your mother you dye it red." _

_No it can't be!_ Ike didn't want to believe but why else would that woman have those colors. This meant either one of two things; 1) Geoffrey was right and Leila dose know more or 2) Lynn really was too dangerous for her.

Should he tell Geoffrey and the others about this? No, there was too much he didn't know or understand. For now he would have to watch and wait to see what happens, plus keep an extra eye on Leila.

Bastian called all of them to another room while others were going to move Mailliw body and clean the blood. "So much for prevent another death," Ike murmured to himself.

Soren heard him and said, "At least we caught the assailant. Now we have the chance to gain some valuable information." That was true but was it really worth a life?

Then Ike noticed his friend Ranulf. His face was beet red and his hand twitching. "Hey, you alright? You didn't get hurt when she threw you, did you? Or wait was it just your pride?" He joked, thinking maybe that was it.

He let out a nervous laugh. "W-well…I umm…just got a little too _personal_ with her," he answered as he squeezed his twitching hand.

"Huh?" Ike had no clue as to what he was talking about.

/~/~/

"_You call yourself a laguz?" The kid taunted. "I've seen mindless animals fight better than you."_

_He scanned the beorc camp when it hit him. Their cover was already blown, right? So all that matter was that the target died as soon as possible. With that in mind he licked his lips like the blood thirsty beast he was._

"_Are you kidding? This was all found on her." _


	9. Chapter 8

All I have to say is give me some time on the next one. Theres going to be a lot of information given that its going to be _long._ But it wont take me more then a month, I think.

* * *

Chapter 8

_Though I don't remember much about my life in Hatari I do remember leaving it. My grandfather was leading an exploration to see what was beyond the desert and also find out what happened to a pack that had ventured out to the unknown many years ago. I may have only been a cub he still wanted me to come to gain the experience. _

_But there were no words to describe the horror. Less than half of us made it across. I know for a fact I wouldn't have survived had my grandfather not been there. Fellow pack members died left and right. This had to be what hell was like._

_The moment the desert ended and our hope high we were captured by beorc soldiers. We were so weak and only four of us made it, it was no wonder we were captured. But in the brief struggle two more died leaving only grandfather and I the only ones alive._

_We couldn't understand our captures and they couldn't understand us. So that gave us the opportunity to plan an escape. Since I was so good with locks my job was to get the shackles that bound us to the wagon while grandfather was to take out the beorc nearby, then we run like hell. _

_After a few nights of recovering our strength we moved into action. The moment the shackles fell to the ground, grandfather shifted into a dark gray wolf and began his killing spree. Obediently, I made for the woods and as I reached the edge I look back to see if grandfather was on his way. And I saw him being struck down by the last two men._

_Something came over me and I shifted into my beast without even thinking. I pounced on the nearest one and dug by fangs deep into his windpipe making the blood rush down my throat. He squirmed under my bite but I didn't let go until he stopped moving. I heard something of a terrified gasp from the other beorc so I bared my teeth which were now covered in his companion's blood and a low growl that echoed through my throat. _

_Needless to say he ran away with his tail between his legs. _

_I didn't pursue. Instead I rushed over to my grandfather. Still in my wolf form, I nudged at his shoulder with my muzzle. No response. I even tried to licking his hand, still nothing. He was gone._

_Realizing this I howled. A deep and lonely cry echoed through the forest. Once it ended I moved on, there was no point in hanging around there any longer. After all, grandfather would have scolded me terribly if I even thought about doing that. I didn't know where I was going to go or what to do. The only thing I did know was that going back to Hatari was out of the question. There was no way I could survive the desert alone and I already decided I was going to live._

_For months I interacted with no one but my prey. I became a lone wolf. But being on my own like this and eating small animals raw was just making me become like a wild animal. I would stay shifted longer on four legs then two. Normally a laguz could only stay shifted for moments at a time but I somehow was able to stay shifted almost all day; maybe because I wasn't far from becoming feral._

_It may have been years after I had crossed the desert when I met him. I had wondered into the mountain range and started my day like any other. I had just caught a rabbit and in the middle of picking what little meat was on it when a voice came up from behind me. I didn't understand it since it was the same way everyone else did in this damn land._

_But I still turned around anyway to see who spoke because this person didn't sound scared at all. To my amazement it was a boy about my height, nowhere near my age, maybe a young teen if I understood beorc aging. A short sword was strapped to his belt that was over a simple red tunic and dark pants, dark hair and most strange of all was what appeared to be a tattoo over his left eye. This land really was weird. What kind of culture tattooed kids? But this mark didn't even look like anything; it just seemed like someone took ink and randomly smeared thin lines on half of his face._

_He spoke again and I still couldn't understand him. Annoyed at this kid, I growled at him in hope of scaring him away. But it did nothing, in fact the kid just stood there looking at me. Then he surprised me by speaking words I know. "Maybe you can understand me this way or you could just be some senseless animal."_

_I knew my eyes were wide but I shook my head and was about to tell this kid to scram when I realized he couldn't understand me in my wolf form. I shifted to my two legged from which felt weird to be in; like my skin was too tight or something. Glaring at the kid I said, "Get lost before I turn you into this rabbit."_

"_Not very friendly, are you?" he said with a grin. "And if you think scaring me by making empty threats you're sadly mistaken. I can take you; in fact I _know _I can take you."_

"_Fine, just don't go crying if you get hurt," I warned him as I was about to shift back to my wolf form. But the boy made no move to drawing his weapon. He just stood there with that cocky grin. "Aren't you going to use that?"_

"_Why?" he asked almost laughing. "It's not like I'll need it."_

_This kid was really starting to piss me off. Fine, if he didn't need his weapon than I didn't need mine. So I didn't transform._

_I charged first, ready to tackle this kid to the ground and pummel him. Instead, he sidestepped at the last minute and tripped me._

Just luck, _I told myself as I jumped to my feet. I swung my arm around but he just moved out of the way again. Then I tried to use my other hand to punch him only he caught it and I wounded up on the ground again._

_He stood over me saying, ""You call yourself a laguz? I've seen mindless animals fight better than you."_

_Enraged, I tried to kick his feet from underneath him however he stepped back. As I was on all fours I growled at him, "You stupid beorc!"_

_The grin he'd been wearing fell to a frown. "You're the idiot here if you can't even tell I'm a beorc." I paused and actually got a good sniff of the air around him. There was something different about him, but if he wasn't a laguz or beorc than what else is there? A sigh escaped the boy and a look of disappointment was on his face. "And you're supposed to be my friend?" _

"_Like I'd ever want to be friends with an arrogant son of a bitch like yourself!" I snapped. Going for an uppercut I finally hit him in the jaw._

_The grin came back to his face, "About time you got a hit." Then he punched me in the cheek._

_We fought for so long dusk had settled. Both of us were bruised and panting, though it was more me than him. The kid stood up straight and looked up the mountain, like he was expecting something to come out. "Father will be looking for me soon," he said._

"_What's the matter…can't stay out after dark?" I taunted in-between breaths. I felt like I was going to throw up only there was nothing in my stomach _to_ come up. Never had I had to fight this hard._

_Looking back at me he said, "We should head back to Lynn."_

_I almost wanted to laugh at him. "What in the hell makes you think I'm anywhere with you? We're not friends as you keep saying we are."_

"_But we will someday," he replied._

Okay this kid has lost it, _I thought. I turned back to my rabbit, wanting anything in my stomach, only to find it gone. Sniffing the air I found that there was no game nearby and I was too hungry and weak to search._

_As if reading my mind the kid said, "There's plenty of food in Lynn and don't worry, there are a lot of laguz there."_

"_No" was at the tip of my tongue but it disappeared when my stomach growled angrily. "J-just one night!" I told him._

"_Ryu," he said which just confused the hell out of me. "That's my name, Ryu. What's yours?"_

_I paused for a moment. No one has asked for my name, not since I came to this side. "Ralik," I told him._

/~/~/

"Wake up dog!" The scream caused the wolf laguz to wake with a jolt and tumbled off his cot. He knew exactly who it was since there was only one person who called him by that.

"What do you want woman?" He asked without looking at Rhona who he imagined was scowling at him.

"How can you be sleeping at a time like this?" She demanded.

He groaned getting really irritated by her tone, "Look, I'm hunting Lalat tonight. I'll have a better chance in the dark and I could use all the rest I can get."

This earned him a punch in the head. "Not that!" She yelled as he rubbed his head. For a small beorc woman she sure packed a punch. He could have sworn she was a laguz. "Anna's been captured!"

The laguz shot his head to look at Rhona. There was no way she'd joke about something like this. In fact, she couldn't take a joke period. That was probably why they kept getting on each other's nerves. "Does Nyoka know?"

"Would I be waking you up if he didn't?"

"Damn it," he mumbled under his breath. He knew he should have tried harder to convince her not to go.

He quickly stormed out with Rhona on his heels. Going down a hallway and up a flight of stairs the tow of them entered the storage room that was also used as their meeting room. Kyle leaned against the wall, Nyoka and the rookie were sitting on the many boxes in the room, and Ghost stood right in the middle.

"So it's true, huh?" Ralik said seeing their grim faces.

"Indeed," said Nyoka. "She succeeded in killing Mailliw but was captured. Worst yet, people saw her face. Now they know a laguz was behind it."

"The irony of it all is she saved the life of the queen yet she'll be branded a murderer and traitor," Ghost added.

"So what's our plan of action? Ralik asked.

"What action?" Nyoka questioned, making all eyes on him. "Anna is a great warrior but our laws dictate that if one of us is captured then we are to do nothing. This is their punishment for their failure."

"Oh come one, Nyoka. We haven't enforced these laws for hundreds of years. Not since the Grandmaster Adish came into power," Kyle explained.

Nyoka's face turned dark. "Do you think I'm doing this just to be cruel? If I wanted to I could have her killed before she could give them any information."

"Anna would never betray Lynn or any of us, you know that!" Ghost yelled which would have impressed Ralik that he was using that kind of tone if he wasn't already pissed off at Nyoka.

"Of course I do!" he snapped. "I'm merely saying what could be done. If she wants freedom she can get herself out, we have too much work to be done."

"But we only have one more target and the dog will have that taken care of in no time," Rhona rebuked.

"That's not true," Ghost said hesitantly. "I received word this morning, we have new orders."

"And that's to find out how Mailliw and the others learned of Lynn," Nyoka went on to explain. I suggest all of you start," was all he said before he left the room with a slam of the door.

Kyle looked at the rookie who seemed pale after having seen Nyoka's dark side. The rest of them had seen it before so they were unfazed. "Colin," he said to him, "why don't you take the first watch? The rest of us will start the search."

He nodded obediently and walked out.

Knowing that the four of them were already planning on breaking the rules, Ralik waited until he was sure both Nyoka and the rookie were out of hearing range before he said, "Don't trust the rookie or something?"

"It's not that," he said. "He's still young and so he thinks everything goes by the book. He'll have to learn someday that you'll have to bend the rules if you want to keep your friends alive."

A smirk crossed Ghost's face. "If I recall correctly, you weren't so different when you were his age."

"Yeah, that's why I know he'll tattle on us to Nyoka if he hears our plan to bust Anna out."

"So what is the plan?" Rhona asked.

"It's simple really," Ghost said nonchalant. "Kyle, Rhona, and I will do as our orders say but we'll keep a special ear out for Anna. Ralik, you finish off the last target and don't return until you do. Once you're back we will have already made a formal plan to save Anna."

Ralik knew Anna was tougher than she appeared, regardless of her illness. But he couldn't help but think, _just hang on a little more. _

/~/~/

Ike sent Oscar to inform Titania on what had happened, although she probably already knew. There was no way that the people who saw the assassin's face were going to keep quiet about it. A laguz murdered a Crimean nobleman. They were going to want blood for this.

Right now he and everyone else were waiting in the conference room. Geoffrey and Bastian had gone to collect all the assassin's gear so they could try to figure out anything about her and Ike had sent Rhys to heal her shoulder wound. No one really spoke except for the occasional small talk here and there. The good news is that whatever was in that smokescreen seemed to have worn off. The laguz could now transform and everyone else felt normal.

After some time past Rhys came through the door and held it open for Geoffrey, who was carrying a bundle of stuff, and Bastian who appeared to have the assassin's hooded tunic. Geoffrey set the stuff down on the table letting its contents spill out. There were dozens of throwing knives, various pieces of leather armor, a couple of short swords, and several daggers.

"What did you do, raid the armory of all remaining weapons?" Ike asked seeing all this.

"Are you kidding, all this is hers," Geoffrey told him as Bastian laid out the bloody tunic and braces.

"Never would have imagined she'd have this much," Bastian commented.

Soren began looking through the weapons and said, "There's no blood on any of these. Did she kill Mailliw in her beast form?"

"No," Bastian told him as he picked up one of the braces. There was a short sting with a loop at the end. He gave it a pull and small thin blade with some crusted blood slid out. "Quite an interesting device. Clever way of hiding the murder weapon."

"It's shameful that a laguz would even consider carrying this many beorc made weapons," Lethe sneered.

"What's this?" Elincia asked, holding up a vile that looked to be crushed up herbs.

"Not sure. But I think it's a safe bet that it's poison," Bastian answered.

"So what are we going to do about this situation?" Lucia asked. "Everyone will think its Gallia's doing and they'll want revenge. But if we continue to do nothing we'll have a civil war on our hands."

Geoffrey rubbed his brow in frustration. "If only I didn't unmask her. We knew there was a chance she would be a laguz."

"Well she's obviously not from Gallia since she's not a feline. Couldn't we just explain that to them?" Ike suggested.

"How? We have no proof. There's no insignia, emblem, or anything to clarify where she comes from or even why she's here," Geoffrey explained.

"Plus we didn't even know the wolf tribe even existed," Ranulf explained. He seemed to have recovered from whatever he did to the assassin.

Suddenly the doors open again, this time a regular soldier walked in. He bowed, "Your highness, the hawk tribe has just arrived."

"Good. Send them here if you would. We need to explain to them what has happened," Elincia told him and dismissed him.

He left and shortly returned with four bird laguz Ike had not seen since the war. The larger one in front with many scars and green coat was Tibarn, king of the hawks. One his left and right was his eyes and ear so to speak, Janaff and Ulki. Lastly there was the heron prince, Reyson.

"Sorry we're late," Tibarn started.

"Since when are you late to anything? Its not like you can have much of an excuse," Ranulf told them.

"Well it's not our fault!" Janaff declared clearly angered but not at the cat. "Those stupid crows kept changing their minds!"

"Just when we decided to go on without them, Naesala declared they had more important things to do," Reyson explained.

"So what all did we miss? I didn't think we were that late," Tibarn admitted.

They spent the next hour explaining the situation; the resent deaths and the laguz assassin. Those of the bird tribe listen intently.

When they finished Tibarn said, with a slight irritation in his voice, "Well, this is a fine situation you all are in."

"It is indeed. The citizens will be demanding a war against the laguz if we don't figure something out and she's won't talk," Bastian pointed out.

"I highly doubt torture will work on her either," Soren added. "She's a highly trained assassin, probably used to such things."

"Perhaps a fellow laguz will loosen her tongue," Giffca suggested.

"Even if it doesn't its worth a try," Geoffrey admitted. "Come, I'll take you to her."

The lion followed after him but stopped when he noticed Ranulf was standing in the same place and not making a motion to come. Giffca said nothing but gave the cat a questioning look. "It'll probably be best if I'm not there," Ranulf defined. "I doubt she'll want to see me."

"So not fair that you got a feel while I got stabbed in the leg," Gatrie grumbled causing the females that heard him to glare at him.

"Then if you won't go then I will," Tibarn declared. "I want to see this laguz who could take out all of you without even transforming."

/~/~/

"I don't believe you for a minute," Boyd told his younger brother.

Ike had remained a while longer at the castle to see if the assassin talked any. No surprise, she didn't say a single word. With nothing else to do he returned to the rest of his group were they had a rather noisy dinner. Everyone at the ceremony wanted to share their own encounter, particularly Rolf who was maybe the only reason the assassin was caught.

Every now and then Ike would glance at Leila only to see she seemed oblivious to the conversations and focused on her meal. Did she really know what was going on?

"Come on, Boyd. Everyone saw me shot her," Rolf defended.

"Then answer this," Shinon chimed in, "where were you aiming?"

The young archer looked away from everyone, while Boyd looked confused. "What has that gotta do with anything?"

Shinon rolled his eyes. "It shows whether it was a skill shot or just dumb luck."

Now they looked to Rolf who was turning red. "I um…was aiming for her legs," he said in almost a whisper.

"Ha, so it was just luck," Boyd mocked.

The older archer struck the boy behind the head. "What the hell were you thinking aiming there?"

Rubbing his head he explained, "The other guys were saying how they need her alive, so…I thought I could stop her movement."

"Next time aim for the chest, that way you at least hit something and don't have to rely on luck," Shinon criticized like a teacher would.

"So what are we going to now?" Titania suddenly asked. "Our job here is done and paid for, so there is no real reason to stay here."

All side conversation ended. They all wanted to know. Honestly, so did Ike. He had planned to take Leila back home once this was over, but that wouldn't be fair to everyone else. Then there was the problem with the assassins. What if there next target was Elincia? "That's true bit I'd hate to leave Crimea in the state it's in."

"Figure you'd say that, Ike," Oscar said out loud.

"Yeah, we're all prepared to hunt down these bad guys," Mia reassured by giving the thumbs up. Everyone else seemed to agree and if they didn't than they didn't object. It seemed they all felt the same. After they all fought so hard to free Crimea in the war none of them wanted to see it go down like this even though they profited from war.

Ike looked down the table at Leila to see a rather blank expression on her face. She might be sad that he wasn't planning on taking her home anytime soon. He was about to say something to her when out of nowhere an arrow zipped through the open window and rooted itself on the table between Mist and Leila.

Everyone was at high alert and Ike rushed to the window to see who shot it. But it was so dark that all he saw was a figure roll off the roof next door. "Oscar, Boyd, go out there and see if you can find who did this," Ike ordered.

The two brothers quickly fetched their weapons and left the room to find whoever would think to attack them. Then Ike turned to Titania. "Go tell Geoffrey what happened. I'll be there soon." She too hurried out.

A small scream escaped Leila mouth as she fell out of the chair. She regained her composure but was still shaking. "Y-you're bleeding, Mist!" She choked out. Mist sleeve was torn and blood began running from her shoulder.

His sister looked down to at her shoulder, just noticing it. "It just grazed me," she reassured all of them. Regardless, Rhys retrieved his staff and began to heal her.

Ike was about to pull the arrow out of the table when Leila pushed his hand away from it. "Don't touch it!" she screamed, she was still shaking.

"What is wrong?" he asked her.

Her trembling worsened that she even grabbed her own shoulders. "It's the same. This feeling, this madness…" she began weeping uncontrollably now. "It's the same as Captain Natsu!" She dropped to the floor and curled up into a ball.

Soren picked up his napkin and very carefully began pry the arrow from the wood. Once free, Soren held it up for them all to see. The arrow head had a jigged end and a weird copper color to it. Was it made out of copper? And was it really like Lehran Medallion? Ike had no intention of finding out. Thankfully if it is then that means Mist is safe since it didn't affect her for some reason.

He got down to Leila and patted her back. "No one is going to touch it. You're going to be safe." She raised her head up at him with swollen eyes but the shaking didn't stop completely.

"Well this was craply made," Shinon commented looking at the arrow.

"What makes you say that?" Ike asked him.

"I'm not sure what it was meant for but this thing couldn't kill anything. The worse it could so was a tear through the skin like it did to Mist."

"But…if it is the same as Lehran Medallion then that's probably the point; to spread around madness." Soren speculated.

_But why? _Ike asked himself. Why would anyone want that? And how? The medallion held the dark god, that's why it spreads madness around? So how could a small arrowhead do the same?

There were just too many questions without answers. If he was going to get to the bottom of this then he was going to have to find out more about the day the medallion was in Lynn. And who better than the assassin who might be from Lynn? He would find a way to get her to talk. This had just turned personal.

"I'm going to head to the castle. I'll also take the arrow to show them what happened. The rest of you stay here in case whoever shot this comes back," Ike informed as he headed for the door. Soren nodded but ripped part of his cloak to wrap the arrow better. Just in case.

/~/~/

Cloudy nights were the perfect conditions for a predator to hunt prey, especially when the prey was man who had no extra senses. As a wolf, Ralik was hunting deep in the forest for Lalat. It had been very easy tracking him a few miles off the main road. The moment he entered the forest he smelled multiple scents of beorc along with Lalat. So he met up with others, soldiers or maybe his own slavers. From the scents it was probably eight in all now.

A normal person would be worried it was an ambush, that Lalat just made it easy for them to track him. But Ralik's way of thinking was that it would be easier to just spring the trap. But one thing about being a wolf laguz, especially with black fur, was that he didn't have to worry about stealth so much and blind in with the other animals and the darkness around him. Grant it he was larger than normal wolves but at first glance he did.

He just hoped it didn't rain till he finds his target otherwise he'll lose the trail and have to search the old fashion way. Though he hated sniffing out beorc anything was better than searching for tracks.

Soon all the scents were beginning to condense into one place. He was getting close. Picking up the pace he soon smelled fire. He stopped and looked around him. There was a small hill to his left, maybe get a better view at what was in store for him.

Quickly he ran up the hill and once at the top he crouched down. There were five tents with one big fire in the middle. Just then a beorc who looked like a royal knight, walked out of one of the tents. _What's a knight doing with a slaver_? Ralik wondered but he watched as he mounted a horse and road off toward the capital. Ralik never got a good look at his face, but right now his mission was to eliminate Lalat.

Now he just needed a plan to do just that and get out of there. He scanned the beorc camp when it hit him. Their cover was already blown, right? So all that matter now was that the target died as soon as possible. With that in mind he licked his lips like the blood thirsty beast he was.

* * *

_Answers will finally be given and a traitor will be revealed. _

_But Ike has only scratched the surface to this conspiracy. _

_**To the One with no chaos**__, _

"_We've finally found her, Master."_

_**The wings that sing rather than fight**__,_

"_Worry not on him, he's here in the city."_

_**And the One in-between to control all**_

"_Honestly, I thought that branded child would have been the most difficult to gain, but she made it easier by running away."_

"_Finally! This world will get what it deserves! Not even the goddess will be able to stop me!"_


	10. Chapter 9

This was originally supposed to be longer but had to cut it down because it was too long.

* * *

Chapter 9

_Trust? What a foolish sentiment. In this world full of sin you can't trust anybody regardless of the so called "bond" you share. Whether it be the bond between friends, husband and wife, parent or child, or even between master and student. You'll only get hurt in the end._

_In our training we were taught to trust one another and our masters and of course being young and naïve I believed them. I was still considered a rookie even though I had been an assassin for a couple of years now. One day I was sent to gather information on some aristocrat in Begnion. Only I got caught and thrown into their dungeon for trespassing. Like any rookie my master was my seconded so of course I thought he would get me out of this mess. But help was the last thing I would receive. _

_Just a few hours into my imprisonment I heard someone coming into the dungeon. It wasn't my master but it was a fellow assassin. I had believed I was saved until the iron bars were open and the assassin pointed his sword at me._

"_Sorry kid," the man said, "Nothing personal. We just can't have you spilling your guts about us."_

_I was going to die by the hands of the people I served? Why? I was loyal, wasn't I? Did I give them a reason to believe I would ever betray them?_

_No, I couldn't have. I now had the desire to live. I wanted to find out what I had done to deserve death. _

_As the assassin lunged his sword at me I pivoted to the side, grabbed hold of his wrist holding the sword, and twisted it around so he stabbed himself with his own sword. His hand fell lifelessly down his side. As I pulled the blade from his body he dropped to the ground like lead. _

_With no feelings of remorse or even guilt over what I had just done I chuckled to myself. _Thanks for leaving me an exit.

_I easily escaped, almost too easy. There were hardly any guards around at all which I thought to be odd. But I didn't dwell on it. My full focus was finding my master in order to get answers._

_It hadn't been two hours of walking before I spotted him sitting on a rock with his back to me. Killing him had crossed my mind but I didn't. Some days I regret it and some days I don't. But I'll never know if it would have worked. Probably not, because before I was even in range he spoke to be as if he had been waiting for me. "I should have suspected you'd be the one that returned, Nyoka."_

_To say I was angry was an understatement, I was furious. I stomped to face my master. He had a rather conceited look on his face that had seen many decades. "What is the meaning of this, master?" I demanded speaking in a louder tone then I'm used to. "Why would you send someone to kill me?"_

_And he laughed! "Why to test you of course." He jumped down from his rock and strolled a little ways from me. "Years ago that's how things were done. So our secrets didn't fall into enemy hands. Nowadays are different with the new Grandmaster. But I wanted to see which was stronger in people; desire for duty or survival."_

_I knew about executing your own but why would I be? That noble only thought I was trespassing. It wasn't like he knew anything about Lynn or what I was doing. Unless…_

_My eyes grew wide at the realization. "You set me up!" I yelled at him. "You knew I would get caught!"_

"_Quite so, quite so," he said sounding proud of himself. "He's on my payroll. I've set this scenario to many others and majority of them just rolled over and died. Never once questioning why? But you, you are different. You desire to know the greatest question; why?"_

_I stared at him. This man was supposedly a genus but a little strange. Now I was wondering if this man was just simply crazy. "Doesn't anyone wish to know why they must die?" I rebuked._

"_Oh Nyoka, what you say is true but I can see it in your eyes. You desire to know more." I tried to keep a straight face but it became difficult when he said, "Don't you want to know why a man would leave his family and what could cause a mother to kill her own daughter?" _

Of course I do!_ I thought angrily, unable to hold my emotions back any longer. There wasn't a day that went by when I didn't think about the father that left and the little sister I lost. It happened just before I left for my training. I my mother was unstable but I never would have imagined she'd do something like this! She was, of course, executed for her crime but that left me alone in Lynn. All I wanted was to forget but others wouldn't let me. They would whisper when they thought I couldn't hear. Treat me as if I were broken glass. Worse yet they treated me as if I had committed those crimes. Like a debt, I had inherited the sins of my parents._

_My master smiled, "We aren't so different. Neither of us asked to be born so why must we suffer from other's sins?"_

_This was dangerous talk, I know this. But…yet…I was slightly intrigued at where he was going with this. "So what's your point?" I asked. I still didn't trust him and didn't want to let on that I was interested._

"_Let me answer you with another question; why do you think Lynn was formed?"_

_I raised an eyebrow at him wondering what that had to do with anything. "To ensure peace throughout Tellius. We strive to bring the races together." I answered like I was in class, knowing full well how hypocritical that sounded. Though Lynn had succeeded in peace within its walls it had yet to do such beyond the mountains._

"_That's the textbook answer, yes, but the not the true answer. It is because Lynn holds the greatest secrets of this world." Well I guess that would make more sense. Lynn always seemed to be in constant danger and secrets were very expensive. My master went on, "The truth about the goddess and the dark god, the great flood, even the greatest why; why we are here. I've only stumbled upon the surface but imagine what else there could be to learn!"_

_He was mad. He had to be. "What do I care about some old history lesson?"_

"_I figured that wouldn't interest you," he said with a sigh. He reached into his bag and pulled out a roll of parchment. After he spread it out over the rock he said, "This, however, might."_

_Hesitant at first, I went over to see what was on it. There was a large circle with a triangle in the middle. All along the sides were words in the ancient language but were too faded for me to read. Only three words were legible; balance, pure, and control. _Why would he show me this?_ I wondered._

_As if he read my mind he answered, "It is a ritual that will cleanse the lands; to wash the dirty sins of man from this land. No more war, no more pain, no more betrayal. It something this land needs desperately and I believe the two of us are the ones to do it."_

_Was there really such a way? And if there was what would that mean? Would it all just go away? "Why tell me all this? You tried to have me killed just hours ago. I could just threaten to tell the Grandmaster!" I warned but part of me was on his side._

"_This has nothing to do with trust. If you were serious about that threat you'd already be halfway to Lynn!" He snapped at me. "I would do it myself but this requires the hands of many. You desire a new world just as much as I do, so why not help me?"_

"_If I help you, what then? I glared at him._

"_Worry not; there will be plenty to do. But for now I just need more time to learn about this ritual," he told me as he pulled out a scroll and rolled in out over the parchment. It held five names that were written in red ink, two of the names I recognized. Then there was what appeared to be a small burn mark but not enough to burn though. "Now if you want to help me we'll have to make it official and sign you name. Of course you have the option of refusing but you'll have to die here."_

So, he didn't trust me either. _My choices are to die or help him with his plan. It was a no brainer; there was no way I could take him in a fight and besides, I somewhat agreed with what he was saying. "Fine, give me a quell." _I'll play your game.

"_No need for that, all I need is a drop of your blood on the scroll."_

_I sighed but took the sword in my hand and slid it across my palm making a thin red line. Holding my hand over the scroll I squeezed until the red liquid fell onto the paper. I was signing my soul to the devil, I know, but I was just so sick and tired of the way this world was run. The moment my blood connected it spread into the form of a snake. It slithered around until it left a crimson trail that was my name. The rest slithered off the scroll onto the rock becoming liquid yet again._

What sorcery is this?_ I wondered but not for long because my chest began to burn. Falling to my knees I clutched the spot that burnt and it was hot. I cried out through the searing pain, halfway fearing my heart would catch fire. But as quickly as it came it vanished though it still left a lingering pain like after someone burnt their hand in a fire place. I pulled the collar of my tunic down to inspect if any damage had been done and there was. Over my heart was a mark, it was the ancient word for bound servant. It now looked like I had a tattoo. But how? _

"_Now you are bound to me," my master said as he rolled the scroll that I had signed my life away on._

_Funny, I didn't really care. After all, when had my life really belonged to me anyway?_

/~/~/

Nyoka blinked his eyes open to the night air. He had decided to rest before meeting up with his master for his progress report but ended up taking a nap. He groaned when he tried to get up. It would seem his age was catching up with him.

Normal people would retire once they reached his age; in fact many asked when he planned to do so. But he knew for a fact he would never be able to. He had every intention of serving his master till the end even if he did believe his master was a coward. After forty years ago the mark didn't burn like it used to; either because the spell had weakened over the years or he had simply gotten used to it.

Ignoring what his bones were saying, Nyoka got to his feet and continued on his way.

It wasn't long till he came to a small clearing where he saw three figures, one being his master leaning his full weight on his staff. Master Dihsar was one of the few branded living in Lynn. He had raven black hair with a face that hadn't seemed to age since Nyoka met him. He wore simple black robes as a scholar in Lynn would wear. Dihsar's left leg was now crippled after the medallion incident twenty years to which Nyoka believed he had done it to himself on purpose. One would imagine this would make him look vulnerable but in fact it just made him more dangerous.

The second person was Zephyr. He was maybe in his early thirties with short, wild green hair. His mouth and nose were covered by a mask and wore a long coat. He also happened to be one of the people who touched the medallion but unlike the others he liked the madness. He always was a blood thirsty killer; the madness just gave him an excuse to be one. On more than one occasion he had tried to kill Nyoka. Needless to say he kept his guard up around him since it was hard to tell when he was just being himself are going berserk. Maybe there wasn't a difference.

The last one Nyoka despised with a passion. It was Naiya, a young woman trained to be an assassin with a bow. Wearing the typical assassin robes with the hood up, she turned to him giving a loathing look. She may not have been as good as Kyle but she was still pretty deadly but that wasn't what he hated about her. It was the fact that she so blindly put her trust in their master. He knew she held so sort of attraction for him and so Nyoka believed her to be foolish. That always seemed to be the problem with these young people.

Dihsar made no notice of his arrival nor did Nyoka until he reached him. "Forgive me for my tardiness."

"All shall be forgiven if you bring good news," he said. "But Naiya will go first since she was here first."

A smirk crossed her face that made Nyoka want to gag and from Zephyr's reaction he wanted to do the same. "I have done as you commanded and shot the arrow at the sellsword girl."

"And?"

"Nothing. The girl didn't react as that so called doctor's patients did. We've finally found her, the last piece," she reported sounding rather proud of herself.

A brief laugh escaped Dihsar. "Reinrag certainly was the useful pawn. But I guess I should really thank him. After all I would never have learned if my enactment would produce the same effects as Lehran's Medallion."

During that brief time that item was in Lynn Dihsar had studied it and somehow came up with the idea of making a synthesis version of it. But in order to do it he had to see how the medallion would affect those who touched it. So he had placed it in the market and observed and crippled himself to make him look like a victim. Of course the synthesis version was much weaker, causing whoever touched to go crazy for a brief moment before they died.

If that girl didn't do any of that then it was a safe bet she had no chaos in her. "So we have two of the three," Nyoka commented. "_The One with no chaos _and_ the One in-between to control all._ Now all that's left is _the wings that sing rather than fight._"

"Worry not on him. He's in the capital now." Zephyr confirmed.

"Ah, so the bird tribe came to the ceremony after all. Looks like Mailliw served his purpose. I had feared he wouldn't." Dihsar said then added, "So all the pieces are in our sight and the day of darkness is just around the corner."

Nyoka couldn't believe it. The time was finally coming. He feared he wouldn't be able to see it coming.

Dihsar smiled, "Honestly, I thought that branded child would have been the most difficult to gain, but she made it easier by running away." That was true. Even though she was always there she was under constant watch, especially by her father. Like his master, that was someone Nyoka did not want to cross swords with.

"But what about her watch dog?" Zephyr asked. "If she so much as catches a scent of her…"

"No need to worry about her," Nyoka interrupted. "Very soon she'll be dead."

"You don't expect me to believe one of _them_ is going to silence her, do you?" They'd point the blade at themselves before thinking of doing something like that," Naiya frowned at him.

This was what he hated most about these younger recruits. They just think they know _so _much when it was the opposite. "Of course not. I've kept her busy, so she hasn't taken her medicine regularly. It'll only be a matter of time."

It was Zephyr's turn to laugh now. "Out from under her father's wing and her caretaker is about to die. How could Natsu fail at capturing her?"

"At least that stupid sub-human is dead," Naiya sneered.

"Dead?" Nyoka wiped his head around to her. He knew he shouldn't be surprised that Natsu died but he was. He and his group had been tricked to signing their names and Natsu openly declared his dissatisfaction; trying anything to break the curse of the bond servant. Before the branded child had run away Dihsar had planned to use the trust Natsu had gained from her and her father to capture her.

"That's old news now," Dihsar told him. "Now for new orders. Zephyr, Kifar has been asking too many questions about my work and somehow managed to steal some of it. Retrieve it and make sure he can't tell anyone of our plans."

Nyoka was sure a smile was under that mask. For a moment, he pitied Kifar. No doubt he'll receive fate worse than death.

"Naiya, I need you to deliver these orders to who it's addressed to," Dihsar ordered as he tossed a small scroll at her. She wasn't happy, either because she was now a delivery girl or because of whom the person was or even both.

Their master turned to Nyoka last. "I trust you know what to do."

He did indeed. Continue to monitor this child of no chaos and ensure the wolf laguz died.

Dishar reached his hands to the sky like he was trying to grab one of the thousand stars. "Finally! This world will get what it deserves! Not even that so called 'goddess' will be able to stop me!"

_Yes, our goals are just in sight._

/~/~/

Ike had made it to the castle in no time at all but headed straight for the dungeon. Thankfully for the late hour not many people he knew personally were out and about which is what he wanted since he wasn't sure how to explain himself. Then again they may have been busy with Titania and finding the guy who shot the arrow. He hoped they would find the archer but he highly doubted it.

As he reached the prison a horrible coughing sound echoed off the stone hallway. It sounded worse the further he walked down. By the way it sounded someone had to be dying. He wasn't sure what to expect.

Finally he reached the row of cells and there was a guard standing next to the hallway rubbing his head in annoyance. "What's going on down here? Ike asked him.

Startled, he looked to Ike knowing who he was. "Oh, well, that assassin's trying to play sick, but no one's buying it!" He yelled the last part toward the assassin's cell. But the coughing continued.

Ike listened to closely and it certainly didn't sound fake. "Have you considered she's really sick?" He questioned him.

"Of course, but General Geoffrey says under no circumstance to open her cell without at least ten blades pointed at her."

Well there was a good chance of that. After his brief fight with her he was sure she could escape this place healthy or not. But right now he needed answers and it would be better if this guard wasn't around. "How about you go get some food, I'll stay and watch over our guest," Ike suggested.

The guard's face lit up like Ike had just bestowed a blessing to him. "W-well if you're sure." He started making his way down the hall. "I promise I won't be long."

"Take you time," Ike added and once he was sure he was out of hearing range walked over to the cell that held the assassin.

She was leaned against the wall on the bunk. Without her large tunic she was left in a dark high collar shirt, which hung tightly on a rather impressive figure, dark pants and boots. Her silver tail hung over the bunk swaying back and forth slowly. With her braid down her hair reached all the way to her elbows.

A few more coughs escaped her before she glared at her with those piercing yellow eyes. He noticed that her sash was still around her waist so that may be where he should start. He took a breath before saying, "The black on your sash means your father passed away and the red means you mother passed away."

There was silence for a moment. The assassin swung her legs around and stared at him like she was studying him. Her eyes didn't change and they made Ike want to fidget under them. But he didn't, he had to stand his ground if he wanted answers.

But she didn't say anything. But he was right about her, he just knew it. So he went on, maybe to find out if this laguz was after Leila too. "A friend of mine is from a village called Lynn. She has a red sash to mourn her mother. I was thinking you two were from the same village." She said nothing so Ike added, "Her name's Leila. Maybe you know her."

She did indeed know her. For a brief moment her face was full of shock and recognition but soon returned to a glazed look. Although not completely because she spoke for the first time. "You lie," she stated in a cold tone that fit her eyes. "She's safely in Lynn."

Now it was his move now. He only had one more and it was a huge gamble. So he turned away from her because there was no way he could keep a straight face since he had no intention of doing what he's about to say. "Fine, I'll just go get her and prove it to you."

He had only taken two steps away when he heard the assassin jump to her feet and rush to the bars. "Wait!" She cried out to which Ike couldn't help to turn around with grin for his bluff. Her hand was outstretched toward him and at that moment she banged had against the iron bars, realizing what she had done. But her eyes shot up at him. "So you now have leverage on me. Are you planning to use Leila to get me to tell you why I killed that man?"

"I'm not a soldier but a mercenary. I'm here on my own business. But I told you the truth; Leila is a friend of mine." Ike pulled out the arrow out to show her. "Someone shot this thing at my sister."

"And so you think I magically shot it from inside this cell?" The laguz rolled her eyes.

"Leila told me that this thing isn't too different from a certain medallion that caused some of the people in Lynn to go mad."

"Now I know you're lying, beorc boy," the laguz said. "Leila would never speak of that day to anyone, especially to a bunch of sellswords."

"Well she had to tell us about it since someone with the madness tried to capture her and nearly killed some of my own men!

This was news to her. She looked both worried and frustrated, like Ike had backed her into a corner. She paced back and forth in her cell no longer looking like the strong deadly warrior she was just moments ago. Finally she stopped in front of Ike. "Look," she snapped, "if I tell you everything I know about the medallion will you keep her safe and out of this affair?"

"Of course, but don't you want her to know you're here? And what exactly is she endangered of?"

Her cold look returned. "If you really know Leila then you should already know the answer."

_Yeah, I guess that was a rather pointless question._

"Also the less you know about her the safer she'll be." Ike wasn't too happy about that response but he came here for answers for the medallion. Of course now he was wondering how Leila got tangled up with assassins in the first place.

A heavy sigh escaped the assassin followed by a cough. "I'm afraid I don't know much either. I wasn't even aware such a thing was there until that day. But it was horrible. I had been called to do damage control. The streets were painted red and littered with limbs. After it was over a man came forward claiming he had thought the medallion was something to be sold in the market. The Grandmaster immediately killed him after the statement."

"How did it leave Lynn? Ike asked.

"It wasn't long after that day when we came under attacked by the Daein. We had already suffered so many casualties that we didn't stand a chance against them. We were forced to the keep. Finally the leader of the army made his demands. All he wanted was the medallion that had caused many to lose their life. The Grandmaster wasted no time. He threw the thing at his feet and said, '_Take this damned thing from hell and never come back_!'And they did just that."

Ike wondered if it was Ashnard who attacked them. _I guess that makes sense. But why would he throw it away if he knew how dangerous it was? _"How could he just get rid of it?" Ike demanded, slightly angered about hearing that. Eventually, the medallion will end up with Prince Reyson's sister, then his mother and father, and finally Ashnard again who started a war because of it! So many lives had been ruined because of this small thing.

The assassin's face turned to anger. "You have no idea what the medallion did to him! Because of it he had to-" She stopped herself from saying too much.

He took a moment to regain his composure. There was no use getting angry at her, this "Grandmaster" was her master so of course she would defend him. "So…are you saying he touched it too?"

She wouldn't look him in the eye. "No, but he might as well have. He…wasn't much better off than the ones who did." Now her fierce look returned. "I have answered you questions, sellsword, now answer mine. Who was it with madness that's going after Leila?"

"It was a laguz by the name of Natsu," he answered her hoping she could shed a little light on that whole situation.

Instead she looked like he had just insulted her master again. "I'm seriously starting to doubt that you're even a sellsword. You just keep coming up with the most ridicules tells. Natsu has forbidden _himself_ from ever leaving Lynn. And that's not something he would break easily nor would he ever dream of hurting Leila."

"Whether you want to believe it or not that's who Leila believed him to be," Ike rebuked. "One thing we can agree on is he won't be going after her anymore."

"What do you mean by that?" She asked and Ike realized that she really knew nothing about that. She also held him in the same regard as Leila dose…and she doesn't know about his passing.

"He's…he died," Ike managed to say.

The assassin fell down on her bunk stunned by the news. "No, there's…there's no way that could have happened. Natsu's…" Suddenly her ears flinched and she attempted to regain her composer but was still a little shaky.

_No, the guard couldn't be back yet_, Ike thought as he looked over his shoulder. He quickly turned back to the laguz. In a whisper he said, "Before Natsu died, he said someone was after Leila, that there was a traitor in Lynn." She looked away from him and he thought she didn't hear him. "Please, if you care anything for Leila tell me anything you know."

She didn't look at him when she said in a hushed voice, "Look for the link between the people who were killed, they may even have an answer for that arrow you hold."

He stared at her, "They've looked, and there is no connection."

Her head turned sharply at him. "Look. Harder," she hissed between her teeth then turned back to the wall.

It wasn't long before an awful cough escaped from her. She tried to hide it but Ike saw the blood that was in her hand now. "You really are sick," Ike confirmed. She moved her hand from his view and didn't say another word. The conversation was over.

"Still not talking, huh?" The guard said once he entered the room.

"Right," he mumbled as he began to leave.

/~/~/

Shortly after, Ike found Titania explaining things to Bastian. He then gave the arrow to Bastian who promised to keep it safe and away from anyone who might touch it.

Afterwards Ike and Titania returned to the inn to learn that the guy who shot Mist was nowhere to be found. Of course Ike suspected this to be the case. The two of them then informed everyone that the arrow was safely with Bastian and that they'll keep an eye out for any other strange things like it. So then Ike suggested they take turns keeping watch in case the archer came back.

He volunteered first since his head was still swimming with all the things the assassin told him; he'd be lucky to get any sleep to tonight. The rest drew for times and went to their assigned rooms to sleep after this long day, except Soren.

The young tactician had his arms folded and stared at him much like the assassin did. "You don't fool me for a minute," he said.

"What are you talking about?" Ike asked but had a good feeling what.

He looked around to make sure they weren't being overheard. Then he stated, "You went and talked to the assassin, didn't you?"

Ike cursed inside his head. Why did Soren have to be so sharp? "I did," he admitted.

"Well, did you get any useful information?"

"Yes and no. She knows Leila and she knew a little more about the medallion in Lynn, but not much," he explained.

"What about the arrow?"

"Not sure. We were interrupted. However…she said to look for the link between those that are dead."

"Let me guess, you want me to find this said 'link'. You really trust the words of an assassin?"

He had a point, like always, and it had crossed Ike's mind several times during his conversation with her. "It's the only words we have Soren," he told his friend.

A sigh escaped the young mage. "Fine, I was going to look up the eclipse in the morning anyway. I'll just add that to my list."

/~/~/

It was well past midnight and Kyle was the only one awake. Rhona and Colin were asleep on the cots not far from him, while Ghost and Nyoke were out gathering intel. Kyle was noting his arrows when he heard a scrapping sound outside.

All ground floor door and windows were sealed shut years ago to keep the curious from wondering in here by accident. So the only way in was through the window on the third floor. An assassin was silent when climbing, this was the sound of someone who wasn't use to scaling a building and they weren't doing a good job either if Kyle was able to hear it.

He quickly grabbed his bow and loaded a ready arrow. "Rhona, Colin," Kyle alerted them in a low tone.

Rhona instantly jumped out of bed with the dagger she slept with out and ready. Colin was a little more sluggish but was none the less up. The two of them stood on either side of the door while Kyle stood in front prepared to fire his arrow at any moment. The three of them stood motionless, ready to strike when the intruder walked through the door.

Though it was faint he could hear the intruder climbing though the window and feet shuffling on the floor toward them. Kyle steadied his heartbeat and prepared himself for whatever came over the threshold. Rhona was her usual self while Colin tightened his grip on the dagger.

Finally when the feet reached the door they stopped. "It's me, a voice that could only belong to Ralik called at to them. But something sounded different about him.

None of them lowered their weapons till Ralik came through the door. He looked tired, ragged, and he was clutching his shoulder.

"What's the deal Ralik?" Kyle asked. "_I_ was able to hear you."

Ralik growled at him. "Well sorry, I'm not use to climbing with one arm."

"M-master Ralik, what happened to you?" Colin asked noticing the blood running down his arm.

"One of those damned slavers had a laguz blade. It nicked me in the shoulder," he answered like it was nothing. But he was in great pain no doubt still feeling the burning a laguz blade was said to inflect. It didn't just nick him; it almost cut into the bone. A little more he might have lost that arm.

"Rhona, take care of Ralik's arm," Kyle told her.

She rolled her eyes but didn't object, although Ralik did, "I think I'd rather lose my arm."

Rhona pulled at his injured arm making him whimper a little. "Just remember, that can be arranged."

Grumbling, he sat down on a box while Rhona rummaged through their supplies. She found some bandages and grabbed a bottle of rum. Very carelessly she opened the bottle and poured half of it on his shoulder. The laguz let out cry shot up away from her. "Whoops," she said with no remorse.

"Woman!" He yelled.

"Ralik quit being a baby. At least the poison from the blade is gone," Kyle reasoned with him since a fight between the two could happen any moment.

"If you didn't like it you should have thought things through better. They're slavers! Of course one or two of them would have laguz weapons! But of _course_ you didn't think of that," Rhona lectured him.

"So does it mean his carelessness caused Lalat to get away?" A low tone from the shadows spoke making everyone but Kyle to stumble to the ground in fright. Colin even backed into some boxes making some lose ones fall on top of him. Kyle knew it was Ghost; always true to his name. He seemed to appear out of nowhere from the shadows with a rather smug smile on his face.

Once everyone realized it was the heron Rhone let out an embarrassed groan, Colin looked white, and Ralik looked pissed. "Do that again, Ghost, and I'll bit your wings off," he threatened.

Since the Ralik was injured it seemed Ghost was bold enough to say, "What's the matter? Is the big bad wolf afraid of a small heron?"

"Keep talking and we'll see," the wolf growled.

"Didn't expect you back so soon Ghost," Kyle commented.

His business face returned. "We'll I saw Ralik returned and wanted to know if Lalat is dead. So?" Ghost directed at Ralik.

"They're all dead. I even bit Lalet's head off for good measure," he informed him.

The heron sighed, "Good, now I have to go to the safe house to inform Kifar of their deaths so he can let the Grandmaster know."

"But what about…you know?" Rhona said meaning 'what about Anna?'

Nobody said anything till Ghost turned to Colin. "Go out and make sure no one notice Ralik coming here," he ordered.

He began to obey till he reached the door. He spun sharply to toward them, his legs were shaking. "Th-this…this is about Master Anna…isn't it?" They were still silent. "I know you all are keeping something from me. And…if it is about her…I…I want to help her too."

From Ghost's face, it looked like he was considering what he was asking. Seeing his look Rhona objected. "You can't be serious. He's a bloodless. What we're doing is dangerous even for us."

"Just let him come," Ralik suddenly declared.

"Why?" Rhona asked. "He's only a kid; I would have thought you of all people would be against it."

He shrugged, "I guess I like his guts. It's not easy to stand up to four masters. But I have to ask: you going to have these same guts when Nyoka finds out what we did?" He asked the rookie.

Colin shifted his weight thinking this all through. Finally he nodded.

"Speaking of Nyoka," Ghost interrupted, "He went to Tarreftnom to see if he can find out anything about Duoqun. We have maybe two, three days before he returns so we'll have to move fast."

* * *

"_The assassins are here somewhere! There are more watching us now! They will kill us all!"_

"_Of course. With this new piece it all makes sense." He turned to the guards. "Bring the assassin."_

_Ghost remained absolutely still, although he doubted he'd live long hiding from someone with Lehran Madness._


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

_Memories from before the medallion are rare and few. Especially with Ryu. I don't remember how long this was before the incident but it was mid-afternoon and I was in what I called my secret hideout, which was just a hole under a bush in the garden. I silently cried into the skirt of my dress so no one would hear me. I just wanted to be alone._

_That of course wouldn't happen. The person I least expected found me. His shadow loomed over me but I didn't bother looking up since I knew who it was by his energy. "Go away Ryu," I wept into my skirt._

_I heard him sigh. "I can't very well do that Leila."_

_Back then I didn't have _complete_ control of my powers so sometimes the elements swayed with my emotions. So the earth beneath Ryu rose sharply causing him to fall backwards to which I started to giggle. Of course Ryu probably fell on purpose so I would stop crying._

_Once he was back on his feet, sadness and all other kinds of negative feelings flooded back into me. "How'd you know I was here Ryu?" I asked._

_He merely tapped his brand over his eye and said, "You're not the only one with powers, dear little sister."_

_Just because he always knew where I was didn't mean I was okay with it. At that moment Anna and Tala knew where I was too but, they were wise enough to know I didn't want to talk to anyone._

_My stupid brother apparently didn't get that memo. He squeezed into my hiding spot and sat next to me. "So why would my sister be under a bush crying?" He said out loud clearly uncomfortable with the small space. I was half the size of Ryu and this hideout was getting tight for me._

"_Daddy yelled at me again," I confided to him. "He sounded really angry this time."_

_Ryu chuckled, "Trust me, you haven't seen him when's he's mad. If he was, all of Lynn would know it." But then he saw my face and cleared his throat. "So what did you do this time?"_

"_W-well…," I started off a little hesitant. "Today was a special day and daddy was giving me my lessons. But then he stepped out for a moment and I thought the room would look pretty with some flowers. So…I left to go to the garden but took a wrong turn and ended up on the streets."_

"_Oh Leila, you're given just one rule to follow."_

"_Don't go off on your own, I know," I moaned. "But I couldn't help it; the market just looked so different in person then from the windows."_

"I know_ you can't keep that curiosity in checked. Are you sure you weren't born from a cat laguz?" Ryu teased ruffling my hair to feel if I had cat ears. I wasn't amused and swatted his hands away. "Come on Leila, you know father isn't mad at you. I'm sure he was just worried to death something happened to you."_

_I knew that. I really did. But when he got all scary I get…well scared. He did have his sweet moments sometimes, almost like he was a different person. "Why does daddy have to be so mean all the time?" I asked._

"_I'm sure being a laguz who's lost the ability to transform isn't easy. If people are going to respect him he probably has to act like that," he answered. That's right, our parents paid heavy prices for Ryu and I to have been born. I honestly wasn't sure which one paid more, mother lost her life but daddy lost part of himself. It be like if either Ryu and I lost our powers. _

_Suddenly Ryu let out a small laugh. "Mom use to say that yelling was the only way he knew how to show affection. He used to yell at her for the same things you do now."_

_My face brightened at the mention of our mother like it always did. "Could you tell me more about her?" I asked in anticipation of learning something about her._

_But Ryu looked away from me. "Maybe some other time, Leila," he repeated what everyone said when I asked about her._

_They all did this! Anna, Tala, even daddy! They'd tell me I acted just like her or look just like her and wouldn't tell me anymore about her! To say it infuriated me was an understatement. All I wanted was to know more about her. _

_No…What I wanted more than anything was just a moment with her. For that, I was jealous of Ryu._

"_Listen Leila," Ryu said in a serious tone. "You have to learn to stay out of trouble. This world isn't kind to people like us. We're lucky to have been born here. Outside these walls are slavers, sellswords, and people who despise the blood that runs through us."_

"_Have you ever been to the outside world?" _

"_Once, and I didn't particularly enjoy it. They didn't know I was a branded but they didn't give me very nice looks when they saw the mark on my face," he told me even though I couldn't understand why people would think him strange for that. Then again I didn't know any other Ryu without his brand. However Ryu smiled at me. "But, the sights are really worth seeing. Do you know what an ocean is?"_

"_A large mass of water that holds many sea creatures," I recited from one of my lessons with from Anna._

_Ryu looked rather amused by my answer. "Well it's a sight everyone should see at least once in their life. You look out and there's nothing but water."_

"_Sounds more lonely and scary to me," I admitted._

"_It can be that but it's also calming. And of course seeing the sun reflecting off the water's surface is what you really need to see."_

_I tried to picture what he was describing but couldn't since the only body of water I've only seen was a pound the size of a puddle in the garden._

"_Tell you what," Ryu suddenly said, "I'll continue to grow stronger so I can protect the both of us while you learn to restrain that curiosity of yours and we'll go see the ocean together."_

_My smile grew wide as I held up my hand and extended my pinky. "Pinky promise?"_

_He rolled his eyes because he hated pinky promises. But he let out a breath before looping his pinky with mine. "Pinky promise." He then quickly dropped his hand and said, "But if you tell anyone this I'll make sure you regret it."_

_Even though he was being serious I couldn't help but laugh. He began to crawl out from under the bush. "Come on little sister," he said, "it's almost supper time."_

_Though I wasn't in too much hurry to see daddy I quickly caught up with Ryu. "Can I have piggyback ride, please?" I pleaded with my sweetest face._

"_Nothing's wrong with your legs," he repeated from all the other times I had asked._

/~/~/

Leila awoke from the memory and soon began to have tears filling up her eyes without her control. She let a few to fall since her heart began to weep for the brother she once had.

Maybe it was good that she dreamed about that day. She had almost forgotten days like those even existed. But then she began to feel such anger she had never felt, making more tears fall. _That stupid madness! _She thought bitterly. _Why did it have to come to Lynn? If it didn't I'd still have Ryu and Captain Natsu would still be alive! _She tried to muffle her sobs into the blankets so not to alert anyone to her emotions even though she was the only one in the room.

But then she felt Mist's energies coming toward her and so Leila began to quickly wipe all the water off her face

The door opened with Mist coming with a cherry attitude. "Rise and shine Lei-Leila! What's wrong?" Her mood changing seeing a face that could only mean she had been crying.

Still drying her eyes she thought of an excuse. "I umm…poked my eye while I was asleep."

There was a brief pause as Mist seemed to be studying her face for the truth. "Alright…If you say so." And so Mist let that matter go. "Anyway, get dressed. We're leaving for the castle," she informed her.

This caught the young branded's attention. "Why? I thought…" _I thought Ike was going to take me home? _

"Queen Elincia heard what happened last night and insisted we stay in the castle until we find the creep who shot the arrow," Mist explained.

"O-oh…okay," Leila muttered slightly disappointed.

Since Leila made no move to get ready Mist came over by her side. "Come on, time to get out of bed," she said in a light tone.

But as she began to make physical contact with Leila, she instinctively pulled away from her like Mist was some stranger. General shock covered Mist's face at her reaction. "I-I'll…be ready shortly," Leila told her refusing to even look at her.

Mist backed out of the room with a rather puzzled look on. "Well…don't take too long…alright?"

Leila nodded and as Mist left closing the door she kept eyeing the bandage on her arm from where the arrow grazed her. Once the door shut she allowed herself a moment to bury her face into her knees again. She was just so frightened by Mist who was supposed to be her friend. You shouldn't have to be afraid of your friends! That arrow held madness and it had grazed Mist, so why hadn't she gone crazy yet?

It was weaker. Maybe there was a slight delay or something. Either way, Leila was going to hold up her defense and prepare herself for the worse. Oh how she wished she was back in Lynn.

/~/~/

"Is this really necessary?" Ike asked Elincia as they walked down the halls of the castle together. "I mean, it's not like we haven't had our lives on the line before. We're mercenaries, its sorta part of the job description."

Earlier, Bastian or maybe Lucia had informed Elincia about their attacker. Upon hearing it she immediately set up quarters for them all to stay within the walls so they could possibly be safer while they helped to figure out this whole ordeal. Ike didn't know of this plan until just moments ago when he went to Bastian about Soren assisting him. That was when the count made the comment about it.

"That was because I was unable to do anything then. After all you have done for me this is the least I can do," Elincia rebuked to which Ike knew there was no changing her mind on this.

"Fine, you win this time your _highness_," he told her with a sigh. It didn't help that she had a look of triumph.

As the two of them neared the throne room the guards opened the door for them. Upon entering they saw Geoffret speaking with another knight who had a much larger physical build than him. This knight wore the standard white armor and also had a long white cape but had what looked like blood at the bottom of it. Though he could be past his thirties he was completely bald with a scar on his side.

But something was amiss by Geoffrey's troubled expression. "The whole camp was killed?" He asked the knight.

With a nod he said, "Yes sir. It seems like a pack of wolves attacked them. But it had to be the work of a laguz since they all seemed to have just been killed, not eaten. There was no trace of survivors."

"Has something happened?" Elincia spoke up alerting the knights to her presence.

They bowed to her before Geoffrey informed her on the situation. "Afraid so your highness. Another man was found dead. However we have no clue as to who he is since he seems to be a foreigner. Captain Trebor, if you would, tell them what you told me."

"Of course sir," the knight, Trebor, said then turned to the queen. "I was preforming my patrol when I stumbled on a camp. I rode to see who it was when I came upon a horrible scene. I found eight bodies that had been mauled by what appeared to be wild animals, one had even been decapitated."

"That's horrible," Elincia commented quietly.

"Well we already speculated that there might be more than one assassin. I guess if we're right this proves it," Ike said out loud remembering his little chat with the assassin last night.

"Before we jump to conclusion we need to find out who this man is," Geoffrey told them. "Trebor, please tell me you brought back anything pertaining to this man's identity."

Trebor face remained the same but Ike could tell he did no such thing. "Sorry sir, I did not. As I said I believe it to be a laguz who staged it to look like an act of nature. I heard about the laguz who murdered Mailliw and feared the assassin had escaped, so I rushed back."

It was easy to tell Geoffrey was a little frustrated by these turn of events. It could take half the day for this new evidence to come and that much longer to figuring this _thing _out. But Geoffrey remained his usual composer. "Very well, we'll just-"

But he was unable to finish because the doors were thrown open with Lucia rushing in with a panicked look. "Geoffrey! Come quick!" Everyone in the room wondered what could be happening to cause Lucia of all people to be this freaked out.

"Lucia, what's wrong?" Elincia voiced her concern for her friend.

"No time to explain. Geoffrey, hurry!" She exclaimed and left as quickly as she came. Geoffrey chased after his sister leaving everyone else to wonder what the hell was happening.

/~/~/

"The assassin is here! He is among us this very minute!" A voice proclaimed form the center of a crowd that wasn't far from the castle.

It was so thick that Geoffrey was unable to see was happening so he began pushing his way through. There was much mumbling between the citizens, some he wasn't able to comprehend. The ones he did, however, said things like, "_Is this how knights act nowadays? Terrorizing people?_" This caused him to start shoving some people aside so he could find out what was causing all this.

Once he finally reached the commotion he has appalled by what he saw. A knight, that he knew was named Dnarbis, had a firm grip on the hood of an elderly man in a black cloak. Dnarbis had brown hair that was shaved close to his head, a sword and knife strapped to his belt, and a look of hysteria as he gazed out into the crowd of people.

"Please, why are you doing to this to me?" The older man pleaded. "I've done nothing wrong."

Dnarbis released him but began circling around the elder which reminded Geoffrey of what predators do to their prey. "I don't recall ever accusing you of anything." Without warning he shoved the man to the ground. "So had guilt caused you to confess your wrong doings!" He yelled.

"I'm telling you, I don't know what you're talking about!" He defined.

"You take me for a fool! I know you're in league with the assassins!" Dnarbis lunged forward and began kicking violently.

Taking no more of this madness, Geoffrey dashed toward the knight and pulled him away from the elderly man but not before Dnarbis got in a few good kicks in. "Get ahold of yourself!" Geoffrey ordered him. He had seen men relive their time during the Mad-Kings War, start acting crazy for no apparent reason. But this, he wasn't sure what this was. This man was terrified of these assassins for some reason yet…he was trying hard to prove he wasn't.

"Sir," Trebor's voice said behind him. He must have followed after them. "Allow me to talk sense of the man since he is one of my subordinates."

"Very well." Geoffrey released Dnarbis and Trebor pushed him away from the crowd.

However, Dnarbis pivoted around him back to the people. "The assassins are around us, they're watching us now. Are you laughing assassins!"

"Get him out of here!" Lucia barked. A couple of guards emerged from the crowd and began dragging Dnarbis away but he managed to get one more sentence out. "Do you think this is funny!"

Geoffrey turned to the elderly man. By the way he was holding his side he may have broken a rip or two. He was just about to help the man when a woman, daughter or granddaughter perhaps, intervened. She helped him to his feet and wrapped a protective arm around him. Before they left she shot Geoffrey and the knights a dirty look.

The crowd began to scatter. Some copied what the woman had done while others spit at the knights feet.

_We have enough problems as it is without our own men causing problems with the citizens. More importantly making them not trust us._ Geoffrey turned to his sister. "What caused this to happen?"

She shook her head. "I'm not sure. But what I do know is that he was one of the guards present during the execution when Djam was killed. And of course some people have been on the assassin's side since people that aren't really like were killed. If I had to guess he heard some praising them and associated the black cloak with the assassin's and just snapped."

"Well, hopefully we don't have another incident like this again. I don't want Dnarbis out an about till he's recovered."

"Agreed."

/~/~/

_That was quite an interesting show,_ Ghost mused to himself as he merged in with the crowd. He was on his way to meet with Kifar at Mikah, a small village east from the capital near the border, when he noticed the commotion in front of the castle and just had to witness the hysteria of a paranoid man. _Indeed knight, we are watching and we are laughing._

No even noticed he was there! It was moments like these he loved what he did.

As he neared the exit of the city he got that feeling in his wings that told him something was wrong. He stopped and looked back out into the city. Something bad was about to happen here very soon. But what?

He shook his head, that wasn't his concern right now.

/~/~/

For the last few hours Soren had been in the royal library looking over every file and every note on the men who had been killed. And so far he's found nothing. Honestly, he thought all this was just a waste of time. They should be on their way to their next job. The only reason he was doing this wasn't because Ike asked him to but because that arrow concerned him. Having more people end up like Greil or that laguz would be a huge problem. And what if that attacker aimed at Ike next time?

He wouldn't let that happen.

"Here is everything on Mailliw," a scholar said as he sat down an arm load of papers.

Bastian, who at a different table surrounded mounds of information, looked up at the scholar. "What has taken so long for them Riabuj?"

"I'm sorry but it took longer than I had expected just to gather it all together," he answered.

This Riabuj was a much older man with dark skin and dark robes. Soren had to admit he was fairly intelligent. He had asked him when the eclipse would be taking place and he had said in exactly two weeks without hesitation. But then that meant they'd have to keep Leila for that much longer. _Great._

Soren mindlessly read through the sheet in his hand not paying much attention to what it was he was reading. He lost count of how many he went through before one of them sparked his interest. Rereading to make sure he had read it right he was willing to bet this was what the assassin wanted Ike to find. What was more interesting was that it was one of the many records of the people Reinrag of Esuolpan took care of.

"Found something," Soren announced. Bastian was instantly on his feet and even the scholar seemed interested. "_Patient experience brief periods of delusions and have violent tendencies after coming in contact with item in question. Unknown whether effects are long termed_," he read aloud.

"You think he was testing effects on objects like that arrow?" Bastian questioned.

"It doesn't sound too different what happened to the laguz we fought getting here. If the arrow is a weaker form of the medallion then of course the effects would be weaker."

Bastian looked over the record carefully. "Go tell the queen and Ike this news. I'll look to see if there are any more files like this one."

He took back the parchment and rushed out of the library. The throne room was the first place he would look and thankfully they were there as well as Geoffrey, probably going over security or something.

Ike noticed him right away, probably awaiting his news, and so did everyone else. "Please, tell me you've found something."

"I believe so," he handed Ike the paper. "Seventh line. I'm sure it sounds familiar."

After he read it he handed it to Geoffrey. "Sure dose," Ike said.

Once the queen had a chance to read it her hands dropped to her lap. She said, "I can't believe something like this was going on right here in the city and I didn't know anything about it."

"Someone like Reinrag would have to get some kind of approval when he entered the capital, especially if he was going to be healing people, right?" Soren asked her.

Her head dropped. "I approved him." But suddenly her eyes were wide at realization at something, "But…Mailliw had persuaded me to do so."

"It seems there may be a link after all," Ike said.

"Yeah, a conspiracy link. Not only do we need to find the rest of the links but also what these men were planning," Geoffrey added.

"Well it can't be good, not if they were researching madness. What I'm more concerned is what they planned to do with it and if it's still in motion," Ike told them.

Everyone silently reviewed this new information in their heads like that would magically give them the answer. Of course this meant Soren's work wasn't done yet. No doubt any second Ike would ask him to continue looking for any information. He should really be asking to be paid for something like this.

Suddenly the queen spoke surprising everyone, "I'm going to speak with the assassin."

"Your highness, we've already tried to get her to talk and no such luck has happened," Geoffrey told her.

Soren couldn't help but glance at Ike who somehow managed to keep his face from betraying him. Maybe with what they found out he should be the one to talk to her.

But the queen shook her head. "I don't want her to hide behind bars. I want her here on my grounds. Bring the assassin to me at once."

/~/~/

Nyoka had been walking down a small country road when his mark suddenly hurt. It was pain like none other. He braced himself against a tree and let out several breaths of pain. It felt like his heart was being rolled into a ball yet at the same time ready to bust!

Why was it burning now? What had he done? It hadn't hurt since the day he got it and that pain dulled in comparison to what he was feeling now.

"Sir…are you…feeling okay?" A man that must have been passing him on the road asked him.

Annoyed, Nyoka pushed him away and muttered something unintelligible; goddess, he couldn't even form his words right!

"Allow us to take you to a healer," another person offered but he shook them off and stumbled to the woods. He was being compelled to go to the capital. Why?

Then it dawned on him. Something wonderful yet horrible was about to happen. _The three pieces have come together!_ It was a big city, how the hell could all three of them meet! With no charms or protective runes they were in danger. Nyoka didn't even want to think about what could happen if one of them died.

Once most of the pain had subsided he began to laugh for no apparent reason. After forty years of work and secrets it would all be in vain. _No!_ He had thrown his life away for this; he would not let that happen. He rather die than to see their plans be ruined by shear coincident.

* * *

Next chapter

…Shits going down….all I can really say without a spoiler. Sorry.


	12. Chapter 11

I know I've asked this before but I'm just so self-conscious about my detail. A couple of places felt like they needed more. I just don't know!

* * *

Chapter 11

_I hate snow. Anytime its cold or flakes fall from the sky it reminds me of that day when my own pack abandoned me. I was born with a rare disease that weakens both of my forms. I was always sick and frail as a child and mostly I'm still that way to this day. A laguz's beast form was supposed to be our strength but it ended up being opposite for me._

"_You're a disgrace to our kind," the people who gave birth to me would say to me. Generally, I was ignored by the pack. If I stayed quiet and out of their way they'd throw me scraps from their hunt._

_Not long the woman who gave birth to me was with child yet again. Their hope was to have a pup that they could be proud of. When my younger sister was born they ended up being more disappointed. For the longest time she didn't open her eyes and when she did she couldn't see anything. _

_They tossed her aside like they did me. We both became ignored but strangely I was pleased. I finally had someone, I wasn't alone any longer. _

_But after a few years the pack decided to return to their homelands across the desert and my sister and I were left in Daein in the middle of winter. Perhaps they didn't want others to know they had such wretched pups. Either way they left us to die._

_Had it been spring we may have had an easier time and not been so hungry if we could have eaten the berries from the bushes. But there was nothing. Snow blanketed to ground, all vegetation either dead or dormant. I was also far to frighten of human settlements back then to go anywhere near them after all the stories the pack told of them. _

_We were reduced to eating twigs and snow and that kept us alive for a few weeks but our ribs became more noticeable each passing day. Out of fear we would die, or more importantly my sister, I ventured out of the hollow tree we called home to try my hand at hunting. My sister had a habit of following me (which was remarkable since she couldn't see me) so I was forced to block the opening with a large branch. I had pleaded with her to stay there and since she couldn't talk yet she nodded. I knew she understood me just fine she just seems to forget what it was I said._

_I had never been on a hunt before or even taught. But I'd had to learn quickly if I wanted us to survive._

_As a wolf I tried to pick up on any scent but the pine smell clogged my nostrils and there wasn't any sign of tracks. I searched for a few hours just hoping something edible would cross my path. My paws kept crunching into the soft snow regardless of how sick I felt. This was possibly the longest time I have ever been in this four legged form. However my back leg landed on something that wasn't frozen dirt and clamped hard on my leg._

_I yelped and was immediately forced to shift back to normal. The pain was coming in slow waves and just made me cry out. Something had to be eating me! I was scared to look or even move but I had to force myself to do both. And what I saw was worse than I imagined._

_Nothing was eating me but metal teeth were clamped shut on my ankle. Through great agony I tried to move my leg but the teeth were chained to the ground. I tried to pry it open but my weak arms couldn't even force it open an inch and even if I was able to shift back my teeth were too dull to chew my foot off but I doubt I'd have to nerve to do it back then. _

_My tail acted as my only source of warmth, so I curled up to it. It was over. As the snow began to fall on my cold numb body I began to wonder what would befall my sister. No doubt she would suffer the same fate as I; either freeze or starve. _

_I was losing consciousness. My eyelids were heavy. Maybe I should just give in already. If I was dead I wouldn't have to worry about surviving anymore. I just wish I was with my sister, so we wouldn't have to live our last moments alone. _I'm so sorry my sister.

_Suddenly I heard voices in the distance. My mind was unable to process what they were saying until they came within arm's length of me. "Dear goddess! It's a child!" A male voice exclaimed. _

_My eyes slowly opened but all I saw was white. As they began to focus I looked up to meet eyes of a human. There was a woman behind him, both wearing white robs. Terror stuck me now wishing death had already come._

_The man moved his hands over me and out of instincts I bit him. To my satisfaction I drew blood. He grimaced but made no move to strike me. He simply pulled his hand away and turned his attention to the metal jaw. The man managed to slip his fingers in-between the teeth and opened it enough for me to slide my foot out. I still had no feeling in my foot but then again I had no feeling anywhere in my body at all._

_Being free, I finally decided to take this chance to escape but ended up becoming a pathetic excuse of a crawl. The woman easily caught me. "Don't even think about moving on that foot," she said softly yet sternly._

_Just something about her voice made me not resist anymore. She sat me down and pulled bandages from her bag. Her hands were gentle as she wrapped my foot up. "She needs to see a proper healer," she said to the man. _

_The man took off his cloak and put it around me. I flinched thinking he was trying to trap me but relaxed when I realized how warm it was. "First we need to feed her, she looks starved."_

_In his bag he pulled out something that had to be food. My mind jumped to my sister in the tree. How hungry was she? Was she even still alive? I accidently blurted her out, "My sister!" I scrambled for his bag. Maybe if I could grab whatever he had I could get it to her. _

_But my stupid foot wouldn't let me do such a thing. "Calm down darlin'," the man said. He picked me up which I did not like. "We'll take you to her just tell us where to go."_

_He would be my fastest way to get to her and if he wanted to hurt me he would have done so already. Maybe these humans weren't so bad. But I did wonder if they saw my ears or tail clearly. These two acted like it was perfectly normal to associate with my kind._

_We reached the tree she was in very soon. I was in such a rush to see if she was still alive I struggled out of the man's arms and fell to the snow. The man helped me push the tree limb out of the way and I quickly crawled in. _

_To my relief I was met with her tackling me and whining. But then I guess she noticed that we had company and walked toward them sniffing them cautiously. She quickly took to the woman, even went so far as to curl in her lap. _

_They gave us something called "dried" meat and told me not to eat it fast or I'll get sick. I was already sick, I didn't want to be sicker but it took every fiber of my being not to swallow it whole. My sister on the other hand had no restraint and so the woman had to help her._

"_Where are your parents?" The man asked after a few bits. _

_I didn't answer. I never told anyone we were abandoned by our pack. _

_They seemed to know the answer anyway. We were two laguz children, half-starved and dressed in rags in the middle of the woods. I wasn't too hard to figure out. The woman asked another question. "Could you tell us your names?"_

_It shouldn't be that difficult of a question but it was. "You mean what they called us?" I asked making sure I understood what she was asking. She nodded and I had to think hard. "I guess…I'm pest and my sister's sightless."_

_The couple looked at me with sadness. They shared a glance and it seemed to me they had a whole conversation without words. The woman turned to me with a bright smile. "That just won't do. I'll just have to call you something else."_

_She looked down at my sister and stroked through her tangled white hair. "You'll be…Tala." Then she looked at me. "And I believe Anna would be a good name to call you."_

_It was settled after that. They were young but it seemed they were unable to have kids of their own. This couple took us in and brought us back to their village called Lynn. Life was wonderful with them, they were our true parents. But Tala and I were devastated when they died._

/~/~/

Someone kicked her bunk, waking the laguz up instantly. Her eyes opened with about three lances pointed at her. "Up assassin. The queen wants a word with you," a knight with shackles in his hands said.

_Why?_ She wanted to ask but didn't. Anna sat up and that was when she realized her feet were chained together. She couldn't help but consciously complement them. The blue haired knight clasped the shackles around her wrist and then attached a chain to them and the ones on her feet.

He stepped out of the cell and the other guards waited for her to move. Oh how she wish they'd drag her like they did locking her up. Anna felt terrible. It was becoming a chore just to breath normally and now and again her vision would blur. It had been a few days since she had taken her medicine and it was taking its toll on her. At least the chains on her feet were short and gave her a good excuse to shuffle as she walked.

Anna had every intention of looking strong until the very end.

/~/~/

Ike waited in anticipation with Elincia in the throne room. Titania, Soren, Lucia, even Bastian and Tibarn waited for Geoffrey to return with the assassin. It seemed to take hours and Ike even found himself pacing.

Finally Geoffrey entered followed by half a dozen guards escorting the laguz assassin. As they came forward the assassin kept her eyes on the queen. Not once did her gaze falter, she didn't even glance at Ike. But in his opinion she looked worse than last time he saw her even though it had just been last night.

The guards forced her to her knees when they were before the throne and three of them kept their lances pointed at her. To Ike, it seemed the assassin was relieved to be off her feet by the way her muscles relaxed. It had been a little over a day and her health diminished that quickly?

Elincia was a few feet from the assassin looking strong and determined. "We know about Reinrag of Esuolpan was performing experiments on my people. We even have reason to believe it had to do with madness." No recognition crossed the assassin's face or even made a sound. She simply kept her head down. "Please, I can only imagine what the others are hiding. All I'm asking is for your cooperation and _maybe_ we can discuss your release."

This was an incredible risk Elincia was taking. The assassin knew their enemies hand and it seemed Elincia had decided to show hers. Ike just hoped the assassin would let them have a glimpse at hers. Now he was really glad about not telling anyone other than Soren about her knowing Leila. The temptation to use her to get information out of the assassin would be too great.

Hope rose in him when he saw the assassin's mouth moved but no words would come out. No sound escaped from her even if it seemed she wanted to. The only way for Ike to describe the assassin's expression was simply put it she was out of it. He halfway thought she didn't know what was going on around her. Slowly, she leaned forward until she was on a course to hit the marble floor.

_Thud. _Her head hit first. The impact echoed throughout the hall it seemed. The assassin made no move to get up and remained unnaturally still.

Elincia started to go toward the assassin to see what was wrong. Lucia stopped her from getting any closer in case it was a trap.

Ike, however, rushed to the assassin fearing her heath was worse than he had thought. He slide next to her and turned her over. Chains rattled as he laid her on her back; eyes closed. He pressed his ear over her mouth; she was still breathing but it was labored like she was breathing in an area with little air. Looking her over he tried to think what was wrong; there was no physical injury and he wasn't sure how much a staff would be able to do.

_No,_ they were so close to figuring this out! Out of nowhere the memory of yesterday popped in his head. _They're searching through her belongings, Elincia holds up a small bottle._

"_What's this?" Elincia asked._

"_Not sure. But I think it's a safe bet that it's poison," Bastian answered._

_Not poison! Medicine!_ _Could it really be? Only one way to find out_. Looking behind him at the others he asked Bastian, "That bottle you thought was poison, where is it?"

"It should be with the rest of her stuff, why?"

"Just get it, quickly!" He yelled.

Since his voice was so urgent he and Geoffrey dashed out of there.

"What's going on in your head, Ike?" The hawk king asked as squatted across from him looking down at the laguz.

Just then the effort of her breathing became plainer as she began gasping and her chest convulsed. Sweat actually began to form on Ike's brow as he and everyone else waited for Bastian and Geoffrey's swift return. "Come on…you are not going this easily," he muttered to her. This was almost as bad as watching Natsu die.

Without knowing how long it took Bastian soon returned with the bottle in hand. He tossed it to Ike who remarkable caught it. Ike pulled the cork out and sat the assassin up. He pressed the bottle to the assassin's lips and slightly shook so the crushed herbs would fall in her mouth. Ike wasn't sure how much was appropriate but ended up giving her about a third of whatever it was.

She seemed to breathe easier but she wasn't coming to yet. Ike wondered if it had really been poison. Maybe he gave her too much…or maybe she needed more. Suddenly her eyes shot open and she began coughing. Some blood came out but soon she seemed as normal as she could be.

Ike placed the cork back in the bottle and handed it to her. "I think you'd better hold on to this."

It seemed to take her a moment to understand her situation. She sat up on her own and looked at Ike with general confusion but was soon replaced embarrassment as her face turned flushed and she looked away from him. "Th-th…" She paused then took her bottle from him. "Thanks," she murmured.

A smile crossed Ike but it vanished when she narrowed her eyes at him. "Do not misunderstand beorc boy. Just because you saved my life doesn't mean I'll tell you what you want to know. My life isn't worth sacrificing my master's trust."

An amused sound came from Tibarn. "Boy, you sure have a lot to learn about this beorc. He didn't do all this just so you'd be indebted to him."

Tibarn returned to the place he was before and Ike did the same. The knights forced her to her feet thinking that everyone was done with her. However Elincia had one more thing to say. "So you have no intention of helping even if it cost you your freedom?"

"Let me ask you this young queen," the assassin said looking straight at her, "would you expect your own knights to betray you?"

"No…I suppose not."

"Then we understand one another. But I will tell you this because it will go along with my master's wishes; you are on the right track of finding your conspirators' intentions. But even we do not know all the names."

"Conspirators?" Bastian muttered then his eyes widened at some realization. "You don't mean-"

The assassin nodded. "There are those who still wish for the young queen's head and they are not all dead but they would be if we knew who. My master does not wish for her death, this is why I tell you this."

When no more words were exchanged Geoffrey and his guards escorted the assassin back to her cell. Tibarn left saying he was going to tell Giffca and the other laguz about what happened. Titania left to do the same but telling the mercenaries. Soren sighed as he followed Bastian back to the library to search for more leads. And if Ike had to guess Lucia left to strengthen security. Nobody intended to take the assassin's words lightly.

This left Ike with Elincia. Her face was passive as she walked to a nearby window and opened it. Ike moved over to her and just stood next to her. They both seemed to look out at the dark clouds rolling over the city. It was strange, he was sure that it was clear this morning. "Looks like a storm's coming," he commented.

Suddenly he felt her hand take his. "Yeah…looks like a bad one," She whispered still looking out to the city. He wondered which she was talking about.

/~/~/

"Mist, there you are!" A voice yelled behind her as she and Leila had been walking down the halls of the castle. It was Janaff who looked slightly winded, probably not use to running but with these small halls it wouldn't be enough room for him to fly.

"What is it?" Mist asked.

The bird laguz took a few breaths before saying, "It's the prince! He just collapsed without warning! Could you come and make sure nothing is wrong?"

"Of course." Then she remembered she had Leila with her. Ike had told her not to let Leila wonder around by herself. "Leila, would you mind coming with me to see if Reyson is alright?"

"Sure," she said absent-mindedly. What was wrong with her? She had been acting weird all day. Well she was weird all the time. Mist just wished she'd go back to normal or even just say what was wrong. Leila could be really stubborn sometimes.

Janaff lead them to the room the hawk tribe was staying in. It was no wonder Janaff was so tired they had to walk to the other side of the castle to get there. When they did they found Reyson sitting in a chair holding his head and Ulki nearby, probably worrying he'd collapse again. Mist had seen the heron look better. He was much paler than normal and looked like he'd be sick any minute.

"I heard you past out, is something wrong?" Mist asked.

Reyson just shut his eyes, "I'm fine…It's just that…this room won't stop spinning." He tightened his hold on his head like it hurt just to talk. Mist touched his head and he was burning up.

"What's wrong with her?" Janaff suddenly asked.

It was Leila he was referring to. Like Reyson, she out of the blue looked sick and held her head. "Leila…what's wrong with you?"

"My head…it hurts…" she mumbled in-between whimpers.

_What could be causing both of them to be hurting like this?_ Mist wondered looking back at the two. She reached to feel Leila's forehead thinking she had come down with something since she had been acting strange.

Before she could make contact, Leila's eyes widen. "_Stay away from me!_" She screeched. A force so strong knocked all of them into the wall and even shattered the windows. It wasn't so different than what happened when Ike's blood landed on her during their fight Natsu. Mist was pretty sure Reyson had a broken wing by the way it was shaped and her and the other two laguz had various cuts from the broken glass that fell on them.

Leila remained motionless in the middle of the room. What she had done seem to just sink in as she looked at horror at them. She held up her hands, which were shaking, and looked at them like she had blood on them. "Wh-what…what have _I_ done!"

"It's okay Leila. I can easily heal everyone," Mist reasoned with the girl. She got back to her feet but made no attempt to move toward her, she just wanted to show Leila she wasn't hurt. Right now she had to calm her down. "See? I'm fine. They are too."

But her words fell on deaf ears. Leila shaking increased and she was no longer aware of what was going on around her. "No…I-I don't want to hurt anyone," She pleaded with some unknown person.

Just then Reyson let out a cry and covered his ears. He muttered several things in the ancient language and his head hit the floor. Janaff and Ulki were worried on what was going on with him but had no clue how to help. They were even too scared to touch him.

_Pathetic,_ a strange voice said inside Mist head. It wasn't hers yet at the same time…it was. _All you can do is watch. Sure you can heal but there are dozens who are by far better than you. _Mist shook her head to try and get the voice out of her head but it did nothing.

_No…_she begged to whatever was telling her this. _Please stop…Leave me alone!_

_You're nothing but a waste of space and air and you know it otherwise you wouldn't be thinking these things._

_I'm not! I…I don't think like this._

_It would be better for you to just disappear. _

It suddenly became extremely hard for her breath. She inhaled as hard as she could but air was limited. Something was choking her! Her hand reached for her neck expecting to find a hand or something that was cutting off her air; but there wasn't, just her bare neck. Mist tried to call out to someone but it was useless. The room suddenly became dark.

_Stop trying to resist. _The voice demanded._ If you live then this world will die. Are you really that petty to sacrifice everyone just so you can live?_

Mist couldn't respond or really process what it was saying. Everything was getting darker and cold even.

"_LEAVE. ME. ALONE_!" Leila suddenly yelled and another force sent Mist flying to the wall again.

Whatever prevented her from breathing was gone now. She gasped for all the air she could as she pushed herself to all fours. Soon she heard others breathing as hard as she was; Reyson and even Leila, who was still standing and looking at the ground. Was that same voice doing the same thing to them? She looked at Janaff and Ulki, they simply seemed confused by the situation.

For no reason at all the two bird laguz let out a startled cry when they looked at the back wall. Mist looked behind her to see what was wrong and she ended up doing the same thing. The wall was covered with shadowy figures with glowing red eyes staring right at them. Some clung to the walls like spiders and hissed in some strange language, others were on the ground just inches away from Mist.

Mist scrambled away but the shadow closes to her lunged for her. Suddenly Ulki jumped in front of her and shifted into a giant hawk. He had just enough room to fly just a few inches off the ground. He screeched and pecked at it though he missed. However the shadows seemed scared at Ulki as they kept a good distance from him but hissed angrily at him.

Janaff came behind her and lifted her to her feet in swift movement. "Go!" He urged as it seemed decided he would cover them. Leila was helping Reyson to the door and Mist hurried to catch up with Janaff right behind her.

Just as Mist crossed over the threshold a horrible scratchy voice echoed all around them. "_You're…in the way…Be gone!" _

She looked back in time to see a bigger shadow slashed at Ulki and the hawk was sent flying out of the room and into a window across the hall. "Ulki!" Janaff and Reyson yelled as the hawk went through the glass and fell three stories down. Janaff quickly shut the door and rushed to the window as Mist pushed a small nearby cabinet in front it though she highly doubted it would hold back those shadow things any time at all.

"I can see Ulki, he's still breathing but he's unconscious," Janaff announced with a heavy sigh.

"That won't hold them," Leila stated simply. Reyson still leaned on her and was probably the only reason he was still standing. In fact they both looked awful; their faces were deathly white. Maybe they were leaning on each other. Mist herself was still just trying to process what happened. And that voice…it still gave her cold chills just thinking about it.

"What the hell are those things?" Janaff asked turning around to them.

All eyes were on Leila but Mist doubted she noticed since she kept looking at her feet. "They're nothing more than nightmares. They never leave me alone," she muttered miserably.

A loud hissing sound came from the other side of the door. Mist wondered why they weren't breaking the door down yet. Janaff let out a frustrated sound. "Man, we need to get out of here now! I could maybe fly two of you out of here but the prince can't fly with that wing."

"I'm…sorry," Leila whispered.

"No, it's mine," Reyson told her. "I'm the one with the frail body." That didn't help her mood.

Before anyone could do anything a dark mist was leaking out of the doorframe like black smoke. Then like a rat, a shadowy hand was squirming under the door. Most disturbing, other than the hissing, was that its claw like fingers sank into the marble floor and grabbed a handful of it.

Mist swallowed hard thinking what one of those things would do to her. Nearly all of them gasped when a red eyed, shadow head squeezed through the crack. "We'll just have to trust our feet to get us out of this! Run!" Mist yelled as she urged them to start down the hall. Reyson somehow had enough strength to run on his own but Mist worried how long that would last. Whatever kind of energy these things were giving off it was taking its toll on the heron.

Where were they going to run to? And how were they going to get out of this?

/~/~/

For a laguz, hearing the commotion going on in the castle was no problem. But when beorc ears could hear faraway cries it had to mean something bad was happening.

The knights escorting Anna back to prison stopped and looked around anxiously. What they had all just heard sounded like part of the castle had just collapsed. They were all wondering what happened.

Anna, however, knew exactly what happened. Or really, who was involved. _Leila!_ It was the laguz's sworn duty to protect her from harm and there was no way for her to reach her in this present state. Now she cursed the knights who chained her like this.

Suddenly a shadow ran over them and Anna couldn't help but feel hope being ignited. Oh she would still scold them for coming for her but their timing couldn't have been better.

"Do you know something about this?" The blue haired knight asked probably noticing the smirk on her face.

The laguz merely shrug much to this knight's annoyance. He motioned the other guards to keep going. "Come on men. The sooner we get her back the sooner we can find out what's happening."

They continued on and Anna knew full well that her companions were watching. She kept walking like nothing was wrong even when Ralik, by the scent, fell from the ceiling on to the two guards behind her and they gave their silent last breath. Rhona jumped out from behind a pillar and knocked the guard in front out. Before the two guards on Anna's side could react two arrows from the ceiling implanted themselves in their knees. Lastly was Colin, he jumped out from behind his pillar way too late and so the blue hair knight was ready for him with his lance. Fearing the boy would end up on that lance, Anna stuck the knight hard in the head with her shackles knocking him out cold.

Kyle jumped down from the rafters and searched the blue hair knight for keys. "_All_ of you had to come?" Anna asked once he found them.

"Not all of us," Rhona corrected," Nyoka's not here."

"And of course Ghost sends his love," Ralik said with a smirk.

Kyle unlocked the chains and Anna couldn't help but rub her wrist. Even though they weren't chaffed liked they have been before there was just no other feeling quite as wonderful then to have bindings removed. Once they were gone from her feet Rhona handed her one of her daggers and accepted it graciously. "Right, let's get out of here before a patrol comes," Kyle said.

"We can't," Anna told them. All of them looked at her as if she had been hit in the head. "It's Leila; she's here and in danger."

All of them, except for Colin, groaned. Rubbing his head, Kyle asked, "Anna…are you sure about this? I mean you've been locked up…Have you even-"

Anna growled at him and he closed his mouth. Yes, she was sure. That was Leila who cried out and even though she didn't trust the sell-sword's words he carried Leila's scent on him.

"That pup can't stay out of trouble even if she tried," Ralik complained.

Colin looked back and forth between all the masters. "Who's 'Leila'?" He asked generally confused.

"Not important rookie," Ralik told him. "Let's just round her up and maybe…" Suddenly stopped and looked very serious.

He hunched his shoulders back as did Anna because she felt what he did. Something that shouldn't be here was. Suddenly Ralik shifted and pounced just when a shadow figure emerged from around the corner. Ralik bit where its throat would be if it had one and it vanished instantly. Ralik shifted back and spit on the ground. "Damn wraiths," he muttered.

"Are you serious!" Rhona cried out.

"There's no doubt about it," Anna said. "Get those spectre cards out and ready. Physical attacks won't work on them. Ralik, give me yours." Ralik pulled one from his pouch and handed it to her.

"Won't you need one Ralik?" Kyle asked as he put his bow away and pulled out his card.

"No, it's strange. Laguz who haven't lost their power can fight these things no problem," Ralik explained. This wasn't the first time Anna and Ralik had fought wraiths. It had been years ago and back then they had called either phantoms or even specters but then Ghost came along and so they just changed the name to wraiths so not to confuse anyone. But spectre cards were standard issue now and all assassins had to go through a short course of magical theory.

"That was rather pointless to ask him," Rhona stated. "Can you really picture the dog sitting though magic lessons." Ralik merely glared at her.

"I always did wonder why we had to learn magic if all we would be using is blades to kill our targets," Colin said, just now finding his card.

"Kids these days," Kyle said shaking his head. "Don't know that there is more than one type of ghost."

"Huh, are you saying there are others like Master Ghost?" Colin asked generally being serious.

This was why they changed the name.

"Never mind him rookie. Come on, if wraiths are here we know who they're after," Ralik told them being the voice of reason for once.

Though wraiths had no scent they gave off this strange impression to those who were sensitive to such things. The wraiths were all over the place. Only she and Ralik had ever fought them before and only those of master rank even new about wraiths. Anna could only imagine how the people around the castle would fend against these things and what she though wasn't good.

But then her mind drifted to that sell-sword. After he had saved her life less than an hour ago it just wouldn't sit right with her if he died. She was taught to leave no debt unpaid. She swore at the conclusion her conscious came up with. "Ralik, you'll have to find her. I…I have something else I must do."

"What is more important than saving Leila?" Ralik asked. Surprisingly he seemed calm.

If the others weren't here she wouldn't give that sell-sword a seconded thought. "I would not be standing here if it wasn't someone here. I can't just let him die the same day he saves me," she explained.

"Well…it would be bothersome if the queen died after all the trouble we went through killing her enemies," Rhona admitted.

"Whatever. Come on rookie, you're with me," Ralik said before shifting and taking down the hall. The poor kid just looked so baffled but quickly followed after him. Sometimes there was a downside to keeping so many secrets from people.

Anna looked to Rhona and Kyle. "You two are with me I guess. Remember to keep those cards ready."

/~/~/

_Now what?_ Soren wondered. He hadn't even reached the library yet and already something was going on. Just now it seemed like an earthquake had just happened. But he knew it had nothing to do with nature. Whatever happened was abnormal and how he knew this he wasn't sure. It was like…spells were being cast everywhere in the castle but that made less sense.

Soren looked to Bastian to see his reaction. He certainly suspected the same thing he did but he was nonetheless clueless. "I'm heading back to check on her highness," Bastian announced and quickly turned around.

Did he think Soren would just go on and look for leads? No way. If there was even a small chance Ike was in danger he was going to be there to protect him. Especially if it was against magic, Ike isn't very good at defending against magic. Wordlessly, Soren followed Bastian since no doubt Ike would be with the queen.

As they headed back, the…whatever he was feeling kept getting stronger. What the hell was going around here?

Suddenly, Ranulf came around the corner in front of them and nearly ran into Soren since both parties seemed to be in a hurry. "Hey, did you two just see what happened?" The cat laguz asked.

"What are you talking about?" Soren was tempted just to go around and ignore him. But the cat's tone made him wonder what could be wrong since he was normally laid-back.

"It's Ulki, I just watched him fall out of the second floor window!" He exclaimed. "I sent Lethe and Mordecai to help him and to get him to a healer. There was blood all over him."

That certainly was disturbing news. Someone was able to impair the hawk so much he wasn't able fly? During the war he'd seen the bird laguz attain serious injury but still managed to flap their wings. Soren wondered if the assassin's friends had anything to do with that.

However he dropped that notion when he realized that the strange magic he felt was near him. He looked up at the ceiling only to see about a dozen shadows of people looking down at them. It took him a minute to realize that they were spirits. He'd never really seen one before or ever heard that this many would gather in one place unless a powerful spirit charmer so willed them to. But to his knowledge there were no such charmers here.

Before he could react, one of the spirits dived down ready to strike at Ranulf. But it seemed that the laguz was aware of them too because he rolled out of the way at the right time. He quickly shifted and pounced on the spirit, causing it to disappear. Bastian pulled out his Elwind tome and managed to take out half of them with the spell. Soren did the same with his wind spell and finished off the remaining spirits.

Ranulf shifted back. "What in the world is going on around here?"

"They're spirits," Soren answered.

"Well I got that when they evaporated," Ranulf said. "I meant, what are they doing here?"

"Is that really important right now? We'll worry about why later when we know her highness is safe," Bastian told them as he led them back to the throne room.

To be continued…


	13. Chapter 12

This was originally supposed to be a two chapter fight but now it ended up being a three part.

Sorry, no flashback! Going right for the action.

* * *

Chapter 12

After hearing stories about a dark god in a small bronze medallion and fighting a guy who wanted to release said god to create a new world, it was hard for Ike to believe things could get any crazier. Until now of course. A little branded girl was being targeted by some mysterious group and is somehow connected to the assassin down in the dungeon. This whole situation was just so frustrating that Ike didn't realize how much danger they were all in.

He and Elincia were in the throne room when the biggest threat yet came. Neither of them knew what to expect. The two had been busy looking out into the city as dark clouds became more ominous. At first the citizens didn't seem to pay any mind to the weather but now most of them had retreated to their homes or some kind of shelter from the storm that endangered their safety.

But the real danger was in the castle.

Both of them felt the shaking and heard glass breaking. Neither voiced their concern as they just listen to try and figure out what was going on. It soon became silent throughout the whole castle. It was so disturbingly quite, like they were the only people there. No clanking armor from the knights or the steps taken by the castle staff. Ike would have rather heard screams than nothing at all. At least then he could tell what was going on.

The two of them slowly walked toward the double doors to see if anything was happing out in the halls. Ike already had Elincia's hand and kept a hold of it in case the plot for her blood was in motion. Every step echoed off the stone walls disrupting the silent world. He remained alert for any movement toward them.

They were within steps of the door when a bloodcurdling scream filled the whole area. The two of them flinched and stared at the door since the scream was coming from behind it. Ike released her hand from Elincia pulled his sword free form its sheath.

If only Elincia had a weapon. Ike wouldn't have to worry about her as much with whatever danger may await them. But she was unarmed and he was the only one here at the moment to fight. He would just have to hope that everyone else was okay and that if there were indeed intruders then someone would rush to defend their queen.

After another scream reached them Ike heard the sound of armor running towards them. Suddenly the doors were flung open with a royal guard standing there. By his demeanor and look of hysteria in his eyes he had been running from whatever was going on here. And it couldn't be good. Blood was on the side of his face and his white armor, yet he looked uninjured.

"Your majesty, we're under attack! We have to get you out of here!" The knight cried out.

"What's going on?" Elincia asked. Both of them hoped he would have the answer.

For a moment the knight struggled to get out just one syllable. Finally he said what they wished he didn't. "I-I don't know. We were attacked by these…shadow men. They killed two knights before I could even blink."

_Shadow men? _Ike wondered if this knight truly saw what happened. Maybe when his fellow knights were cut down he quickly ran to warn the queen before he could get a good look at them. Maybe the intruder's shadow was all he saw?

It didn't really matter at this moment. At least now there was someone else to help protect Elincia. "Let's not be the next ones," Ike said. "If the enemy is down that hall then we'll just go through the back entrance and-"

Ike didn't get to finish his plan as blood was sprayed on him and Elincia. A dark rod suddenly stuck out of the knight's chest. His sword clanged against the marble floor and his eyes didn't change from just a second ago. He never knew what hit him. He and Elincia both gasped. Ike very quickly scanned the room but saw nobody.

At first Ike merely thought someone threw a black javelin at him-after all he didn't see the enemy-but then it was pulled out and the knight fell to the ground causing more blood to stain this room. Standing over him was…well the only way to describing it was a shadow man. Ike couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was a shadowy figure with red eyes and arms that looked like black javelins.

Ike charged toward it but swiftly picked up the sword by the knight and tossed it to Elincia who caught it with ease. He then raised his sword and diagonally sliced through it.

However his attack did the same as if he were cutting through smoke. The shadow split and then reattached itself. Then it tilted its head all the way till it was touching its shoulder. "_Piecessss…not here,_" its voice echoed as Ike took a step away from it.

It raised its stick like arms up and they began to peel until each arm had five, long finger like claws. "_You're…in the way,_" it hissed. It brought its claw down on Ike and it would have been fatal had Elincia not deflected it with her sword.

"Go Ike!" She shouted at him as she took a stance to fight the shadow on her own.

He gritted his teeth and pivoted around her ready to slice through it again before it had the chance to strike at Elincia. "Like hell I'm going to leave you here!" He cut it in half and it did the same thing like the last attack. It split and came back together.

"_You're…in the way,_" it repeated.

This time its claw shot toward Ike's throat so fast that he was barely able to evade it. It grazed his shoulder, just inches away from his throat. The shadow tilted its head again as if it was confused. Ike himself couldn't believe he was able to dodge it.

"Ike!" Elinica cried out.

"This is nothing," he told her even though it didn't take the worry out of her eyes. "Listen, we're going to get out of this together. Besides I know about a dozen or more people who'd kill me if you got hurt on my watch."

"Fine. But don't you dare tell me to run off without you," she declared as they both backed away from the shadow.

"Wouldn't dream of it." At that moment Ike really wished Elincia had a staff with her since there was no way the two of them were coming out of this fight unscathed.

The shadow growled angrily, "_Not here_!"

"Ugh! Don't you know anymore words?" Ike groaned as he swung his sword. Instead of his blade going through its figure it block with its claw. Ike inhaled sharply when his sword hit it because it felt like he had just struck the wall and the vibration painfully went through his arms to his toes.

Ike saw Elincia running toward him with her sword ready. However the shadow began hissing. "_You're in the way._"

With one arm it swatted her away like a pesky fly. She was sent flying across the room and hit the wall. For a horrible moment she didn't move when she hit the floor. "_Elincia_!" Ike shouted fearing the worse had happened, but to his relief she began pushing herself up.

Suddenly Ike felt himself being lifted up from the ground. The shadow had a firm hold on his sword and began thrashing him around until Ike lost his grip on the handle. Ike landed hard on the ground a few feet away and lost his breath momentarily.

As Ike looked up he saw the shadow bend his sword in half. Getting back on his feet he said, "I was really starting to grow fond of that blade." The shadow began a sluggish pace toward him and now he wished he still had the holy blade Ragnell. If it could cut through blessed armor then surly it could do some kind of damage to this thing.

"_Sssacred blood…not here,_" the shadow hissed.

Ike wondered what it meant by "sacred blood" but he would have to pounder that later. That is of course they survive this ordeal.

Before the shadow could make its next move of attack magical blades began cutting through it and it wasn't coming back together. Cries of agony escaped its nonexistent mouth before it simply vanished.

His first thought was that Soren or Bastian had come and saved them. But as he looked up his mouth literally fell at who his rescuer is; the laguz assassin.

She was just a few feet away from him with one of those magic cards pointing at where the shadow was. A murderous look covered her face but soon it disappeared as she let out a breath she must have been holding. On both sides were a man and a woman who must be her accomplices. The man who had a bow over his back rushed over to Elincia and the laguz headed toward Ike. In just a few strides she reached Ike and held her hand out to him. "Up beorc boy," she instructed in a commanding voice. "More are coming."

He just couldn't believe what was happening. He also worried about Geoffrey; he was one of the guards taking her back to her cell. If she was here then what happened to him? Ike quickly glanced over at Elincia to see the man helping her up. If these assassins wanted them dead they would be. So he accepted her hand and was quickly brought to his feet.

"Wow, no wonder you wanted to come back and save this one. He's quite the looker," the other woman with crop blond hair said as she came around the laguz and eyed Ike much like the merchen woman had during the war. He couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed since she was looking at him like he was a piece of meat.

The laguz was unfazed by her comment and simply said, "If you have time to harass someone then you have enough time to look for an escape."

The woman merely shrugs with a smirk and disappeared down the hall of the back entrance to the throne room.

Elincia was by his side again and the two of them stared at the man and the laguz. "What happened to the guards that were taking you back to the dungeon?" She asked. Ike knew she was wondering about Geoffrey.

The man scratched the back of his head. "Well…we left some of them alive," he answered.

Before either of them could react to the news the laguz said, "This isn't the time for details. If you want to get out of this alive you're going to have to trust us for the moment. You can worry about your guards' safety later."

"But why would you come back to help us?" Ike questioned. "You had a chance to escape, why wouldn't you take it?"

"As I told you earlier, the queen is not meant to die," the laguz answered simply.

"Plus if she died now then that means we've done all this work for nothing," the man said with a lighter tone.

Just then the other woman ran back in the room and slammed the door with all her might. "That way is no good. It's swarming with wraiths!" She declared.

The man looked to the laguz who had her eyes closed. Ike could hear her sniff the air and he wondered if those things had a scent. She shook her head, "They're all over the place. I can believe this many has gathered in such a short time."

"Oh man, what are we going to do now?" The woman worried.

"If I didn't know better I'd think you were afraid of these wraiths," the man chuckled.

She turned angry and began tapping her foot. "Well I don't like anything I can't stab with a dagger."

"Both of you get serious," the laguz told them and they instantly did. This laguz seemed to have authority over them, Ike wondered if she out ranked them or something. "Rhona you have an extra one, right?"

This woman, whose name must be Rhona, searched through her pouch and pulled out a second card. She handed it to the laguz who then turned to Elincia. "Your highness, you can use staffs to heal correct?"

"Yes, that's right," she answered.

The laguz held the card to her. "You should be able to us this no problem to fight them." Elincia was a little hesitant at first but accepted it. She handed Ike her sword when the laguz said, "You won't be able to do much with that beorc boy. Physical attacks won't work on them. The most you'll be able to do is block their attacks." She and the other assassins turned their backs to them as they took their stance for the upcoming shadows. They pointed their cards down the hallway and Elincia copied them.

_Great,_ Ike couldn't help but think. At least now they had a better chance of getting out of this alive. If he couldn't attack then he'd just have to defend them from getting hurt by the shadows. "Could you give us you names?" Ike asked. "I like to know who I'm fighting with."

There was a brief pause and the two assassins looked at the laguz. "You can call me Anna," she finally told without looking at him. "Those two are Kyle and Rhona."

"I'm Ike and I guess you already know Queen Elincia," Ike conveyed to them.

Anna made no reply or even acknowledged what he said. She just stood there like a statue. Then out of the blue she said, "Once this is over Beorc boy we will be even."

He was caught off guard by this. Was she really only doing this because he saved her? Well it didn't matter especially since two shadows were coming down the main hallway and possibly others were breaking down the door Rhona had shut. This could be a long fight.

/~/~/

The last thing you want to do when you're being chased is to run into a dead end. And that's just what Mist and the others did. The four of them had managed to evade those things for the most part thanks to Leila being able to sense them. But now they'll catch up to them in no time with nowhere to go.

As Mist looked back the way they came she wondered what they were going to do now. These halls were much too small for Janaff to transform and even if Reyson didn't look like he was about to pass out or had that broken wing he still couldn't fight. Mist was just starting to learn how to use swords but she didn't have one or even her staff that she could use to counter them. That left Leila. There was nothing here she could use to bend other than the air. She had asked her about that; if she could do what she had done earlier. But the girl just looked at her with confusion.

She had said "I did that?"

Mist could have sworn Leila had been fully awake and aware. Then again did she really didn't understand what was going on either? Every now and then Mist could still hear that horrible voice creeping up in the back of her head.

A dozen of those things were in sight coming down the hall toward them. They were truly trapped! Unless…

"I guess we have no choice but to escape through the window," Mist announced as she hurried to the nearest one.

Before she had a chance to open it all three of them said simultaneously, "What!"

"I already told you Mist, there's no way I can fly all of you down safely," Janaff told her.

"Then take Reyson and Leila out of here. I'll hold these things off till you can get me," she argued.

"You've hit your head or something. There is no way we're leaving you here alone," Reyson reasoned.

In truth Mist was scared out of her mind right now. But she couldn't let all of them die here. Suddenly Leila gasped catching everyone's attention. "What is it Leila?" Mist asked. _Don't tell me there are more outside?_

"Someone's coming," she said just over a whisper.

Janaff peered down the hall then quickly widen his eyes. "What the hell!" He cried out in general shook.

"What? What is it?" Reyson asked wondering the same thing Mist was; if whatever these two could see was friend or foe. Neither would respond.

Mist squint her eyes to try and see what Janaff did. But she wouldn't have to since she heard a dog snarling. Just then a large black dog-correction a wolf-jumped on three of the shadows nearest to them and caused them to disappear almost instantly. It bared its fangs at the remaining shadows placing itself between them and the shadows. They hissed angrily at the wolf who just snarled louder and hunched its shoulders ready to pounce on them.

Ike had told her that the assassin had been a wolf laguz and this was certainly a laguz. Could this be the assassin? But then why would the laguz be helping them?

Before they could do anything else magical blades began taking out several shadows in the back. Mist thought it would be someone she knew but it turned out to be another stranger. It was a boy who couldn't be much older than her in a white hooded tunic and what appeared to be a spectre card in hand.

The wolf tackled the last remaining ones however one managed to slip away. The last shadow extended its claw hand and was about to attack the wolf like it did to Ulki. Mist was just about to warn the laguz when the boy pointed the spectre card at the shadow. The magical blades hit the shadow but also the wolf.

The laguz yelped but it didn't appear to cause any major damage. The boy, however, turned paler than Reyson when the wolf began growling through a closed muzzle. In a timid and shaky voice he began to apologize. "I-I'm so sorry, master! I…magic was never my strong suit."

Without warning the laguz shifted into a man in a black tunic with the hood down revealing wolf ears coming out of a mess of dark hair. He stood over to the boy and snatched the card from him. "Give me that," the laguz said and then looked at Mist and the others.

His gaze was intimidating to say the less. Mist wondered what those two wanted. She was also slightly confused. Didn't Ike tell her that the assassin was a female wolf laguz? It was hard for Mist to believe that there was another kind of beast laguz but now there would seem that there were two.

Janaff stepped in front of them probably suspecting he was the enemy. However Leila rushed toward them and threw her arms around the wolf's waist. All of them, even the boy, were dumfounded when Leila began to softly whimper into his person.

The wolf's whole being went stiff at Leila's contact. His face twitched as it seemed he was fighting the urge not to yell at her. Finally he sighed, "Alright Leila, everything's going to be fine. You can let go now." When she didn't obey him he began trying to pry her off of him. It didn't work as it seems she had an iron grip on him. He let his arms fall to his sides in defeat.

"Master, is that the girl you all were talking about?" The boy asked.

"Yeah…no more questions about her. It's time to get the hell out of here. These damn wraiths are all over the place," the laguz announced.

Mist was about to object in fear that this laguz was just like Natsu when Leila spoke. "What about them?" She looked up at him with innocent eyes.

He shrugged, "Who cares! My only concern is to get you out of this alive otherwise I won't have a head anymore."

When the laguz took a step away from them Leila instantly let go of him and jumped back in front of Mist. "I'm not leaving them here!" She exclaimed and stooped her foot to make her point. Mist, Janaff, and Reyson were speechless.

The laguz growled at her probably just to scar her, at least Mist hoped that to be the case. "I don't give a damn about these people Leila. I'll drag you back to Lynn kicking and screaming if I have to!" He threatened.

"Just try it!" Leila held up her hands as she took a fighting stance. "You're the one who always told me to take care of your pack. You never leave your friends behind!" Mist couldn't believe this. If a fight did break out between these two she would think Leila would be a safe beat since she could force a laguz out of his beast form.

Nobody said anything or even made a move as Leila and the laguz stared each other down regardless if the hissing from the shadows grew louder.

Finally…"Damn it!" The laguz kicked the wall in frustration. He paced back and forth muttering things in the ancient language. Leila had a grin from ear to ear. Looking incredibly annoyed he pointed at her saying, "Fine! They can follow us until we find these stupid knights and then we're gone, got it!"

"Got it!" Leila smiled which just made the laguz more annoyed.

"Master Ralik, why don't you just take her by force? Surly she's not that strong?" The boy asked.

The wolf snorted. "I very well could, it just I'd lose more than my tail if I so much hurt a hair on her head."

"Then why-" But the laguz cut him off by waving his hand at him.

"No more questions rookie."

"Oh Ralik, don't pretend you're not a big softy at heart," Leila mocked.

"Anyway…" Ralik ignored Leila and looked over Mist and the others. He was definitely sizing them up. She felt herself squirming under his gaze a bit. "Let's see…a bird laguz who won't be able to fight, a scrawny beorc girl, and a…ugh a heron. _Great_. This should be easy," he said as he rolled his eyes.

Mist was slightly offended by this laguz but not as much as Janaff and Reyson. Had Reyson not looked like he was death he would have surly made a remark. Instead it was Janaff who did. He stomped up to Ralik- he was a head shorter than him-and said, "Listen dog breathe, if this was anywhere else I could beat you with one wing."

Ralik just stared down at him. "Normally I'd just kick your ass here and now but with these wraiths all over the place I'll probably just use you as bait."

Turning red with anger Janaff was ready for another comeback or maybe even to start a fight with him. Mist intervened to put a stop to this foolishness. "Both of you shut it!" She demanded as she stepped between them. Mist turned to Ralik. For a moment she could have sworn he looked rather impressed with her. "And you, if all you're going to do is belittle us then you can leave."

"Yeah Ralik," Leila piped in. "What would Tala think if she heard you talking like that?"

The wolf's face was flustered at that comment and he turned away from everyone looking more uncomfortable by the minute. Everyone, including the boy, stared at the laguz's back.

The hissing of shadows coming around the corner reminded them of their current situation. Ralik instantly jumped into action. He threw the card back to the boy and prepared to shift. "If you want to get out of this alive then follow us. Rookie, you better help that heron. I think he's about to pass out." Very quickly he turned into a black wolf and began attacking the shadows one after another.

Leila started to follow after the laguz until Mist pulled at her arm. "Leila!" Mist was worried that this guy was just like Natus. Was he after her too? Did she even consider that possibility?

That would be a no by the puzzled look she gave her. "I know Ralik seems really mean but he's a nice guy when you get to know him."

"…Alright." For now she'll trust Leila's judgment. But she didn't trust this Ralik person. With Reyson having to rely solely on the boy for support it would seem it would be up to her and Janaff to keep an eye on their new "friends".

/~/~/

The whole castle was in mayhem. With Ike nowhere to be found it fell to Titania to lead the mercenaries. At first all they heard was the halls filled with screams. That was when she saw the shadows.

They were fighting against the knights and winning easily. The mercenaries attacked them like they would any other opponent but soon realized that their weapons had no effect on these shadowy figures. It wasn't until Rhys picked up a light tome and cast the spell that any real damage was done to these creatures. Realized that magic was probably the only way to defeat these creatures, Titania ordered them all to not worry about fighting these things but to help evacuate everyone while she, Oscar, and Rhys looked for Ike.

She also told them to look for Mist and Leila while they were at it. The two of them had been gone since they came to the castle this morning; she really hoped they weren't in the midst of all this.

So she, Oscar, and Rhys were heading for the throne room to find Ike when they heard groaning in the direction of the prison. Knowing that Geoffrey was using that way to transfer the assassin Titania became paranoid about what could have possibly happened. And in her imagination it wasn't good.

What they found wasn't far from the worst case scenario. Two of the knights who had been taking the assassin back were dead while the rest were either in agony or unconscious; Geoffrey being one of the latter.

Rhys began using his staff on the solders with the arrows in their knees while Oscar and Titania reached Geoffrey. She gently shook him and called out his name until he came to.

"What the-" he moaned momentarily not knowing where he was. But then his hand reached up and touched the side of his head which had a giant knot. That was when the realization hit him. "That damn assassin! She got away!" He got on his feet without hesitation.

"I think we have bigger problems than an escapee," Titania told him.

"What could be more important than recapturing an assassin on the loose?"

As if on cue, some shadows emerged around the corner. The knights that were conscious were alarmed at the sight (the ones Rhys was healing probably thought this was some crazy dream). One of them tried to get to his feet and escape but apparently forgot he had an arrow in his knee and so he crumbled to the ground in agony. Geoffrey picked up a nearby spear and hurled it at the shadow in the front.

Had it been a normal man it would have been a fatal hit, but attacks like that didn't work on these things. The spear only went through where a man's heart would be and caused no visible damage to it. "Our weapons are useless against them," Titania explained to him when his mouth fell open.

"You're kidding!" He looked incredibly uneasy at their situation with good reason. If only this was one big joke.

"Afraid so. Magic seems to be the only thing that harms them." And their only magic user was busy healing. Perhaps they could force them back and dash down the hall when an opening appeared. But the two men Rhys was tending to won't be moving anytime soon and the guy Oscar was trying to stir wasn't responding at all. There was no way they could get everyone out of here alive. It would be especially hard if they had to carry those three men; their pace would be slower and those creatures would catch them in no time at all.

Looks like she, Geoffrey, and Oscar would just have to hold them off till help comes. Just as the three of them were about to attack when the shadows came closer a roar bounced down the hall. The shadows didn't like whoever it was and began screeching to where all of them had to clutch their ears to stop the harmful sound but it did nothing to help. Titania felt like the sound was trapped in her skull and was wreaking havoc in there.

When it finally stopped she dropped her hands to her side she realized that she had fallen to her knees as did everyone else who had been standing. The creatures were all gone and taking their place was Giffca in his humanoid form.

"Sir Giffca!" Titania cried out startled.

"Get those wounded to the courtyard!" He ordered. "King Tibarn is defending that area as Lethe and Mordecai gather everyone that's hurt and any healers."

"What of the queen? Have you heard anything about her?" Geoffrey asked.

The lion shook his head. "There are many I haven't heard from; Ike being one of them." In the back of her mind she feared for his safety but she knew full well that Ike was able to take care of himself. She also knew that he must also be with the queen; the two of them would take care of each other.

"Sir Giffca, would you please make haste to the throne room. Her highness must be there," Geoffrey practically begged staying on his knees. It was easy to tell he was frustrated that he wouldn't be able to fight this threat to protect Queen Elincia. It takes a lot for a knight to ask for help like that.

"I would, had King Tibarn not already ask me to find Prince Reyson. Ulki was found in the courtyard, half-dead, and not by the princes' side. Needless to say the Hawk King is resisting the urge to tear this whole place apart to find him," the lion explained. Geoffrey was unable to hide his disappointment but said nothing.

Suddenly Giffca turned his head toward the direction he came. Did he hear those things coming back? Whatever he heard his body wouldn't betray if he was worried about it or not. "It's Ranulf, he's not doing well," he announced plainly. He looked to them. "He's with some magic users and they're pushing toward the throne room to find the queen and Ike."

"I'll go assist them," Geoffrey quickly announced.

Giffca seemed satisfied with that and resumed down the path without another word.

Geoffrey was about to take off toward the throne room when Titania grabbed his arm before he could take two steps. "No one like us should be running around here alone," she told him.

He heaved a sigh as he looked at the men still on the ground. "Right, we'll take the injured to the courtyard. After that we'll head toward the throne room."

Just then the unconscious guy awoke slowly. "I think Ranulf and the others could use your help more," said Oscar. "We've got this, you two go on." Meaning Geoffrey and Titania.

"Are you sure?" She asked doubtful about leaving them here.

"Go on and find Commander Ike," Oscar urged as he helped the knight to his feet.

Titania turned to Geoffrey who was looking at her. They then took off with their weapons ready to block any threat that came to them. There were a few of those creatures here and there but thankfully they were in groups of ones and twos otherwise they might not have reached Ranulf and the others.

Soren and Bastian was with him as well as a few other knights and a couple other magic users. Around the corner would be the main entrance to the throne room but to get there they would have to go through a whole army of these shadows. Suits of armor and tables had been pushed to their sides to act as a defensive wall.

All of them looked drained practically the magic users. Each spell was forced and not as vigorous as they were meant to be. Ranulf was worse since he was probably the only one getting close to those things. He was resting his body against the wall with blood and sweat dripping from his hair.

"'Bout time someone came…although I was hoping it be some fellow laguz,"Ranulf said in-between breaths when he saw them. He slowly began sliding down leaving a blood trail on the wall from where his head had been. When he was now sitting on the floor he muttered, "Yeah, we're not doing so good here."

"Is there anything we could do to help?" Titania asked even though there wasn't much _they_ could do.

Ranulf just shrugged. "Who knows. They just keep coming. We make one disappear and like…ten more takes its place!"

"Can you tell if there is anyone in the throne room?" Geoffrey asked.

"I smell quite a few scents in there; Ike and her highness being some of them. That's why we came down here. But that's when we ran into this blockade and they don't show any signs of letting up," Ranulf explained sounding really annoyed.

One of the shadows made it past all the magical attacks to the barrier. It jumped on top of some armor and before a swordsman had the chance to knock it back or something the shadow quickly struck its claw in his throat.

As the soldier fell Soren used a wind spell on it and it vanished with a dying hiss. That was when his legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground.

"We won't last much longer," Ranulf commented as someone dragged Soren toward them.

It would seem that pulling back to the courtyard was the only thing they could do. There was no way they would be able to push through all this. At least they knew the queen wasn't by herself in this fight. She was about to convey this plan with the others when she saw Geoffrey's expression. He had another plan that didn't involve retreating. "What is?" She asked him.

He was silent for a brief moment as if to be sure of his idea. "You said magic was the only thing that hurt these things, right?" He asked her.

"Also laguz can hurt 'em," Ranulf chimed in. "What's you point?"

"The assassin's gear…she had these…magic cards. You know the ones that let non-magic users use magic."

Ranulf immediately perked up and even jumped to his feet. "How many were there?" He questioned with this new hope in his voice.

"Maybe…two or three," the knight answered unsure.

"It may not be a lot but it would give us more offense," Titania told them and Ranulf nodded eagerly at the statement. "Where are these cards now?" They'll worry later why an assassin would have these things.

"There in the armory," he admitted. "But if we go down the way we came and take a right instead we'll be there."

Before any of them could agree to the plan everything fell silent in the area. For a moment the creatures didn't move. In a dark yet rather…happy voice one of the shadows said, "_The piecesss…they finally come._" With that they all began a slow pace to the throne room.

"Hey, where are you going!" Bastian shouted angrily at them but they paid no mind to him. He even cast an elfire spell, killing three of them at once, but still made no notice of them.

"What the devil! They're leaving?" Geoffrey gritted his teeth in frustration.

"At least when they were attacking us that were fewer enemies for Ike to fight…Now they're all coming to him," Soren speculated still sounding extremely drained and was certainly not getting up any time soon.

"We'd better get those cards fast!" Titania claimed. Geoffrey nodded and the two of them took off toward the armory while everyone took the moment to catch their breath.

To be continued…


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

There was no escape. Every exit, every entrance was blocked by these shadow things. Magic was being cast in almost every direction taking out dozens of these "wraiths" as the assassin's called them. But more just kept coming. There was no end to them in sight!

With their backs to the wall Ike, Elincia, and the assassins fought the onslaught of wraiths coming to them. No one had been seriously hurt yet but that might change in a little bit. The assassins were still going strong but were running out of steam with all the blocks and dodging they were doing.

Ike had a few more cuts on him and for the most part Elincia was using the card pretty well. Each time she used it she at least hit one of those things.

"Why are there so many!" Rhona yelled over all the hissing after she narrowly rolled out of the way of a fatal attack.

It was so loud that Ike could barely hear himself think especially when they chanted things like "_Blood_" all the time. The noise looked to be affecting Anna the worse. Some moments she seemed to be in excruciating pain when she shut her eyes tightly and didn't move until the last minute to avoid an attack. He kept asking her if she was alright but she wouldn't answer him.

"I have no idea," she answered in a strained voice. "I've never knew there to be this many wraiths in one place."

At that moment she fell to her knees panting. "Anna!" Kyle shouted as he used his card to destroy a wraith that was inches from reaching her. He knelt down next to her with a hand on her shoulder. "Is it your health? Do you need your medicine?" He asked.

The laguz shook her head. "I just got dizzy, that's all. I honestly didn't think they would affect me this much."

Another group of wraiths were entering their perimeter and Elincia used her card to kill them before they hurt anyone. "We're not going to last much longer if this keeps up," Kyle said out loud looking out at the sea of wraiths. All of them were near their limits and pretty soon the card would be run dry of magic. Even Ike had to admit that he wasn't doing so well and he wasn't even killing any. He felt like a laguz waiting to shift to join the battle. Now he knew how his laguz friends must have felt like during the war when they couldn't fight. It certainly wasn't a pleasant feeling.

"Don't you monarchs have secret passage ways or something?" Rhona asked. A wraith leapt out of the mass and was over her head. Rhona pointed her card at it but no magic came out. For a brief moment she panicked but got ahold of herself and pulled out a knife to redirect it's rod like hand. She prevented it from hitting any vital spots; it did however graze her thigh as it came down.

Before it had a chance for a seconded shot Rhona had already retreated to the back with Ike and Elincia. "Now might be a great time to show us if you do," she said in one breath.

"There's only one I'm aware of but it's nowhere near here," Elincia answered gravely.

Kyle helped Anna to her feet and the two of them clustered with the rest of them.

"Isn't there some other way we can get rid of these things?" Ike asked. Escape was probably the only way they were going to live but it just didn't sit right with him leaving the wraiths for someone else to take care of.

"No, as long there is just one remains they will continue to go after whatever they deem to be the cause of their existence," Anna told him. She sounded like she was reciting something from a book.

"What are they looking for?" Elincia asked.

For a moment none of the assassin's said anything and only kept their eyes on the shadows. But then it was Anna who spoke, "To understand a mindless creature is to become ones yourself."

She knew. All three of them knew why these wraiths were here. It probably was true what she said but still, why were they keeping quite? He'll worry about that after they get out of this alive. "Now what are we going to do?"

"There is one last thing we can do," Anna announced. "Though…I'm not sure how well it would work."

"Oh no! Don't even think about doing _that_!" Rhona declared in a scolding voice.

"You can be serious Anna. Your body can't handle doing _that_," Kyle warned to which Anna just narrowed her eyes at him.

Ike and Elincia looked back and forth between the assassins. _What's _that_? _Ike wondered. He knew Anna was sick but was she really going to put her health in danger or something? And how would she even do that. He really couldn't wait till this was over so he could finally get some damn answers around here.

"I won't stay that way for long," Anna told them. "You two need to stop fretting like a bunch of old ladies."

Suddenly all the wraiths movements stopped and they even fell quite. They were like statues with their red eyes looking blankly at them. The silence caused Ike to hear everyone's heart beating loudly. What were these things planning now? The anticipation was worse with them being quite then when they were attacking them.

Without warning they all began to leave. "_Piecesss,"_ they hissed as they began to walk through the small door by the throne. "W-where are they going?" Elincia asked out loud.

Kyle and Rhona looked to Anna who lifted her nose to the air. After a few sniffs her eyes turned wide. She was about to open her mouth to say something but stopped. Her face returned to normal and it would seem she changed what she was originally going to say. "Ralik's down that way," she informed trying to mask the worry in her voice.

Rhona slapped her forehead and moaned. "That stupid dog. He had one job and he blew it like he always does. That means we'll have to save his sorry ass."

"Dog?" Ike repeated. Were there more assassins in the castle? "Is he the one these things are after?"

The assassins glanced at each other yet again. A whole conversation seemed to taking place without any words. Kyle then said, "Not him. More like…the person that should be with him."

"Who would that be?" Ike asked them. When they didn't answer and just looked at him he turned angry. "Will one of you just give us a straight answer for once!"

Again none of them said anything and they were unfazed by his sudden outburst. "Look," Elincia spoke up sounding just as equally frustrated as Ike, "we can help you if you'll just let us know what it is that is going on."

"No, you can't," Anna said sharp enough to cut paper. She then turned her back to them replied in a venomous voice that sent chills down Ike's spine. "This is our affair, not yours. We're even now beorc boy so leave this place before wraths decided to kill anyone in sight again."

Anna began to go in the same direction as the wraiths were heading with Kyle and Rhona following her. Before they even took five steps Ike realized who it was they were worried about. The only person that could cause a response from the cold hearted laguz "It's Leila, isn't?" Ike claimed.

Each assassin stopped and their whole bodies flinched at the mention of her name. It was Rhona who reclaimed herself first. She spun on her heels with her hands on her hips. "How the hell do you know about her!" She demanded.

Before Ike had a chance to explain Anna interrupted-still with her back to them, "I told you beorc boy, this is no longer your affair."

"Yes it is!" Ike claimed. "Leila is not only our friend but I also promised Natsu _I'd _keep her safe. You can tell me to leave all you want but I'll still follow you if she's in danger." Ike stared at Anna's back waiting for her respond.

Both Kyle and Rhona looked confused. "Natsu?" Kyle repeated. "How do you-"

"It doesn't matter," Anna snap at him. She turned around and marched toward Ike till she was just inches from his face. The top of her head only reached to his mouth and he felt his face heat up. Though she was technically looking up at him it really felt like she was looking down on him. "Listen up and listen well, beorc _boy._ I'll let you do what you want only because if what you say about Natsu is true then you are indeed responsible for her. But my debt to you is paid so you're responsible for your own safety here on out." She didn't wait for a response before turning her back to him and her hair hitting him in the face.

He looked to Elincia and was just about to suggest she go find her knights since he was about to do something incredibly reckless when she seemed to read his mind. She said, "I thought I told you; don't tell me to leave without you."

"I'm not. Just…be careful, alright," Ike advised not willing to argue with her and also not wanting to.

"All of you stay close me and be ready to run like hell. I'm not sure how well this will work," Anna announced as she took a few steps in front of everyone. Ike put the sword he had been using in his sheath even though the sword would be loose in it.

Kyle looked at her with sad eyes. "Don't push yourself too hard, alright Anna?"

She didn't say anything, whether it was because she couldn't hear him or she just chose not to Ike couldn't tell. Pulling out her medicine bottle she poured out about a pinch in her palm and then swallowed the dosage. Once she carefully placed it back in her pocket she hunched over as a strange glow consumed her like all laguz do when they're about to shift. Standing before them now was a white wolf with the top of her head and back grey. But Ike didn't feel too confident Anna would last very long in that form. Her fur lack luster and even though she had a thick coat her bones looked like they would snap under her own weight, not that there was much since she looked half starved. However he did have to give her some credit. Regardless of her appearance she was bearing her fangs and standing her ground as if she were an alpha wolf.

With any warning Anna dashed toward the door plowing through any wraiths in her way. She may have been slower than most beast laguz she was still effective against wraiths who probably weren't expecting an attack. Kyle and Rhona quickly sprinted down the wraith-less path staying within close proximity of Anna's tail. Both Ike and Elincia were caught off guard by the sudden take off that they had a few seconds delay before following the assassins which was fairly difficult to do since they were much swifter than Ike had ever seen.

Strangely enough the wraiths weren't paying any attention to them as they mindlessly kept marching onward. Ike kept one hand on the hilt of the sword just in case one of those things decides they don't like them following them to wherever they were heading.

Once out in the hall way Ike and Elincia finally had the chance to see what these wraiths were doing to the rest of the castle. It was worse than what they had imagined. Windows were shattered, furnishings were wrecked beyond repair, and cracks were on the walls and the floors. But worse of all were the bodies of the castle staff and a few knights scattered all over the place. Elincia was modified by these sights. She even stopped to stare at the corps of a very young servant girl who couldn't be out of her teens. For a moment Ike stopped too because at first glance the girl had looked like Mist. Ike kept telling himself, _Mist will be fine. She's with Titania and the others. She'll be fine. _He pulled at Elincia's arm motioning her to continue. "Come on," he said to her.

Elincia took off running without another word. The queen was fighting the grief that was no doubt in her heart but there was something else too. Anger. She very well wanted answers from the assassins more than even Ike now. For what reason could her people be dying?

As the two of them were falling behind they saw fewer wraiths in the halls but that only meant that there were that many more on their heels. They were on their own now so they couldn't ask the assassins to slow down, not that Ike could blame them. Who in their right mind would slow down in a situation like this?

Very soon the hallway spilt into two paths. Anna stopped in her tracks and began sniffing both the ground and the air. The other two assassins stood patiently for her as the wolf circled around the area. Just as soon as Ike and Elincia caught up with them Anna immediately took of down the right path. But before she traveled too far her front legs gave out and she tumbled to the floor. The moment her body hit the ground she shifted back and continued to roll until she stopped on all fours and threw up.

"Damn it Anna! We told you not to push yourself!" Rhona yelled angrily at her but there was clearly concern in her voice. Neither she nor Kyle made a move to help her.

Ike was about rush over to her when Anna wiped her mouth and stood up like nothing happened. "Just a little farther," she said. She looked horrible. Her skin was the same color her white fur had been and she seemed to be in great pain as well by the way her body was slightly shaking. He wanted to help her, especially once he got a look at what she had vomited up. It was the contents of her stomach but also mixed in with blood. But Anna was more embarrassed by this than anything and wouldn't accept assistance from anyone, he was sure of this.

She took off running on two legs still leading the way but much slower so now Ike and Elincia were able to keep up now. Ike really hoped Anna knew where she was going because he had lost track of their place in his mental maps since he was previously occupied following a wolf. Very soon the screeching from the shadows started up again. The sudden noise caused all of them to stop moving and cover their ears fearing their eardrums would explode.

"This is definitely the right way," Anna confirmed what Ike was hoping when the worst of it was over. Everyone else pulled their cards back out except for Ike and Rhona who just drew their blades out.

Kyle stayed close to the wall and peered around the corner. One glanced and he quickly turned with the woman following after him and Ike bringing up the rear. There were two large doors, one already opened slightly, right in front of them and Ike realized that it was the dining hall.

They slipped in only to find more wraiths in there. The long table was broken in the middle with chairs and a few bodies tossed all over the place. However there were two bloody staff members alive cowering in the corner, too afraid to move even though the shadows were busy doing other things. All of them were scraping at the walls hissing angrily "_Ssssacred blood!_" There were large claw marks in the stone as it would seem they were desperately trying to get to the other side.

Rhona took a cautionary step back, "What now?" She whispered to anyone not wanting to bring the wraiths attention to them. "They're not here and wraiths are coming in fast."

"I-I…" Anna looked bewildered. She hadn't expected this outcome. "I don't know. I thought for sure they were here."

Just then a howl that couldn't have come from the wraiths vibrated through the walls. _What was that?_ Ike wanted to ask but didn't because the wraiths stopped moving once again and for a moment there was silence again.

Then without warning the wall farthest from Ike and the others seemed to explode! Wood and marble flew all over the place but most surprising was seeing a large black wolf in the midst of all of it. Somehow he managed to land on his feet but there was a small blood trail from him to the new hole in the wall. As the wolf emitted a deep growl from his muzzle blood began to slowly drop form his underbelly.

Ike just happened to glance over where the wolf had come from when he spotted Janaff jump through the entrance. He raised both arms in the air and Ike could hear him shout, "It's about damn time!" He leapt into the air and shifted into a giant hawk. His powerful wings flapped through the large room as he extended his talons catching many wraths at the end of them.

To his disbelief his little sister was the next person he saw along with an unconscious Reyson between them and Leila. "Mist!" He cried out and raced toward her. Mist head jerked up at the sound of her name and her face brightened at the sight of him. Her mouth was moving but Ike couldn't make out any words.

As the two small girls were making their way to the group with Reyson's arms around their necks several wraiths were surrounding them. _No,_ he wouldn't make it in time. But he wouldn't have to. A boy, who was dressed no different than the other assassins, was following them and he used his card to take out several on one side while the others were taken care of by the wolf who flashed past Ike and made a circle around the girls. Anytime a wraith came to close the wolf showed his fangs and pounced on it.

The two groups met in the center by the broken table. Just as Mist and Leila sat Reyson by the table his sister wrapped her arms around Ike. "Oh Ike! I-I was so worried about you a-and everyone!" She whimpered into his shirt.

He returned her embraced just so happy to see she was alive. "Don't worry, I going to try and get all of you out of this alive." Although he had no idea how he was going to do that. Mist let go of him and quickly wiping and liquid from her eyes. He glanced at Leila. She was a wreck; she was desperately trying to keep it together. Ike was just about to reach out to her when he realized he had blood on his hand. He'd better not go anywhere near her. "Are you hurt, Leila?" He asked her.

She shook her head but didn't look at him or anyone in particular.

"Leila!" Anna rushed over to the child and wrapped her arms around her. It was hard for Ike to imagine the cold assassin had a soft side that she'd expose for everyone to see; it just seemed so out of character for her. But at this, tears began to form around Leila's eyes. She hugged Anna like a child would their mother when they were sad. To comfort the child Anna began stroking her hair like any mother would. Were they…kin? Ike had no idea.

The wolf stopped attacking and padded to the rest of the group. He shifted into a man with black hair and black clothes and squatted down holding his chest that was bleeding slightly. Seeing this, Rhona said, "What's with you? Don't tell me you're quieting after all your boasting."

He glared up at her looking both annoyed and tried. "Woman, I've been fighting since we split up. Excuse me for taking a breather. Besides, the little birdie probably needs to let off some steam."

Ike looked up at Janaff to see him taking out many wraiths all around them. But no matter how many he ripped through more just took their place. For whatever reason they weren't attacking the servants only those in the middle of the room. He looked to Leila and wondered why these things would want her? He had no intentions of sacrificing her to them but he did wonder how they were going to get out of this alive.

Magical blades and the cries of wraiths and laguz filled the dining hall. Everyone fought hard for their survival but things were turning bad when one card after another turned useless. Soon it ended up just being Janaff and the black wolf fending off these creatures. Those who had weapons blocked any all wraiths that came to close to anyone will the ones that could fight stayed in the center of the circle they had made. It didn't matter that it was assassins that had Ike and everyone else's back at this moment. Ike was sure no one thought about what would happen if this ever ended.

A small wraith suddenly slithered past the wolf at a snakes speed and was now in their inner circle. It raised its claw up and was ready to tear through both Leila and Mist. Ike was too far from them to save them. For a moment his heart stopped fearing the worse was about to happen. At the last moment Anna placed herself between it and the girls. The laguz raised her forearm to the upcoming attack so not to critically wound herself. However she seemed to misjudge its strength considerably because she was sent hurling right toward Ike.

He caught her but the weigh and gravity caused both of them to fall to the ground. Both of them scrambled to their feet only to see that the wraith disappeared. Ike looked all around them but both the wolf and Janaff were busy with wraiths surrounding them. He turned to Anna and noticed her right arm was dripping blood as well as the side of her head. Her gaze was also cast to the window with a sour look.

Following her gaze he spotted an older man up on a broken window sill. One hand gripped the sill for support and the other held a magic card pointed at the spot the wraith once was. When he jumped down and began making a path to them with the magical blades Anna's cold stare narrowed at the older man. "Is he a friend of yours?" Ike wondered out loud wondering if this would be an enemy after all this was over. Then again he was surrounded by assassins. Who knew who was on whose side?

She didn't reply and Ike wasn't sure what that meant. But for an old man he sure didn't move like one. He used his card only when he could take out about five or more at once and managed to maneuver though the shadows very skillfully. Once he reached them he looked to all the assassins with a scolding look even though he was clutching his side that had an ever growing red spot.

Very slowly everyone else began to realize this new person that had join them and the assassins tensed up when they saw him, particularly the younger one since he even started shaking slightly. "Oh, uh…Nyoka. What brings you here?" Rhona asked innocently like their lives weren't in danger by freaky shadow figures.

"I'm not even going to ask why you all are _here_," Nyoka replied in an icy cold tone that could bet Anna's on a winter day. All of them drew back looking sheepish except the wolf laguz. The black wolf spared a moment to snarl at him while Anna kept her narrowed beast eyes glued to this Nyoka. His eyes skipped over Anna and settled over Leila who wouldn't look up him. "I should have guessed you'd be in the center of this mess. Young lady you should be back in Lynn where you belong."

Still not looking at him she said in a soft voice, "I know." Was he blaming her for all this? Who did this guy think he is?

Closing his eyes he said, "What matters now is getting out of this." He let go of his side and extended it toward Leila. That was when Ike saw that his hand was soaked red. He was going to get blood on her! Did this idiot not realize what he was doing!

"No, don't touch her!" Ike and Anna, who must have realized at the same time he did, shouted in unison.

But their protest did nothing. Nyoka's middle finger touched Leila's brand that was on the side of her head but kept his palm in front of her face so she could see the blood that was on it. Her eyes were wide and she began trembling just like she did when Ike's own blood fell on her during their fight against Natsu.

"_Release_," Nyoka commanded in a firm voice. Instantly Leila went still and her eyes were sucked of all emotion. There was a slight glow in her eyes and it became brighter. Nyoke pulled his hand back and put some distance between them. Even the wraiths seemed to be retreating.

Soon her whole her body began to glow when Ike felt a small breeze in his face. "Everyone get down!" Anna yelled. The assassins instantly fell to the floor and braced themselves for something. The others were a little slow but a few began taking cover. Ike wasn't sure what was going but he felt like he should be helping Leila. She was going to bend the wind like she did last time blood fell on her. Suddenly Ike felt Anna tackled him to the ground.

The air was erupted by shattering glass all around them and the wind picked violently like they were in a storm. Ike felt himself being pushed across the floor as the wind blew painfully in his ear. He couldn't hear anything. The last time this happened it lasted only for a second but this storm didn't seem to be letting up anytime soon.

Through the wind Ike could see some people rolling until the wall stopped them. Janaff wasn't able to transform in time and so the force slam him into the wall changing him back and not moving anymore. There were even glass and furniture flying all around them.

Finally the wind began to calm down enough for Ike to lift his head up. There had indeed been wind damage done to the room but most importantly all the wraiths were gone. Every single one. Then he remembered Leila. She was the same way before the wind started but as the light from her body became dimmer the wind grew weaker. When the room became still Leila's body crumpled to the floor.

He quickly got up and rushed over to her. Of course there was nothing he could do for her since she was out cold. Everyone else was starting to recover from the indoor storm although Janaff seemed to be having some trouble getting his bearings and Reyson had been unconscious the whole time. Mist wasn't too far from Ike and thankfully she seemed to be unhurt. But that wasn't the case with Elincia.

A large portion of the broken table seemed to have landed on her back. Both of them pulled the wood off her the moment they noticed it. "Are you alright Elincia?" Ike asked her.

"I'm fine, don't worry about m- ahhh," the queen let out a gasp when she tried to push herself up. Ike was just about to help her when a loud snarl drew their attention elsewhere.

It was Anna, shifted as a wolf, and she had Nyoka pinned down with her jaw clamped around his arm that he must have used to keep her from attacking his neck. She was growling angrily as it seems she was having trouble biting through the bone or something while the man under her was struggling to get her off. Finally with his free hand he brought it out and punched Anna in the side.

She yelped as she rolled off and immediately shifted back. Once back on her feet she had a furious look that told Ike that she was no longer in control of her emotions. "You damn bastard!" She shouted at Nyoka. "What gives you the right to do that to her!"

Nyoka was having much more trouble getting up. From the ground he said, "We all could have died and I didn't see you coming up with any other plan. What would you have done?" Nyoka certainly didn't think he was in the wrong.

"But releasing the seal? Her father placed that on her to keep her safe!" Anna declared.

_What?_ What were they talking about? Ike looked over at Leila and wondered yet again what any of this had to do with a little girl. And a seal? He wasn't entirely sure what the meant but it didn't sound like something a father should do to their child.

"Oh yes and it was working just find when I arrived!" Nyoka argued finally getting up but was hunched over as he held his side. "Besides she won't remember it. She never does."

"And you think that justifies-" Anna started but stopped. She regained her usual composer. Very soon Ike heard footsteps running toward them. Ike was more than thrilled to hear what sounded like knights but it probably wasn't the best since there were six wanted assassins in the room.

Through the doors came Geoffrey and Titania along with a few knights behind them. Again, both Ike and Elincia were happy to see they were alive but they did worry what the assassins would do. They noticed the queen first and then saw that she was injured. Geoffrey and the others turned their attention to the assassins and held their weapons out to fight.

With the mood of the room changing drastically Anna and the others drew their weapons if someone was going to make a wrong move.

Elincia pushed Ike's and Mist's hands away from and pushed herself to her feet regardless of the pain she may have been in. In a firm tone she spoke up, "There shall be no more bloodshed. Away with your weapons, all of you!"

"But you highness," Geoffrey protested, "these assassins have-"

The queen interrupted him, "They will answer for the deaths they've caused and they'll do so by giving us the answers we seek. But I shall not do it by force." She was looking at Anna when she said all this but the laguz showed no signs of wavering.

"Lady, I don't know what made you think we'd cooperate with you but we'll do no such thing for you," the black wolf laguz replied bitterly. "We'll just be taking Leila now and be on our way." He made a move toward her but both Ike and Mist blocked him. He certainly wasn't pleased by their action.

"No one is taking her anywhere while she's in this state," Ike declared making the laguz look more annoyed. "A laguz by the name of Natsu entrusted her safety to me and so I'm not going to just hand her over to a bunch of assassins!"

"Natsu?" The laguz looked astonished to hear that name. "Why would he…"

After a brief moment Nyoka limped up to Ike and said, "Looks like we both have questions that need answers. Fine, we'll play by your rules until we no longer have questions for you."

"Are you sure that's wise Nyoka?" Kyle asked as he slowly lowered his bow. "What about our laws?"

"These people are already deep in our affairs. It'll probably be safer just to let them know now instead of them thinking we're a threat later," he explained.

"Whatever," Anna grumbled. She walked toward Ike and stopped when she was in front of Elincia. "But our lips stay closed _until_ Leila wakes up." She wasn't asking or making a suggestion, it was a demand.

Elincia thought very carefully about this decision. "Fine," she agreed. "But forfeit all your weapons and I won't have any of you bound."

Most of the assassins weren't too pleased with that but it would seem they would whether be weaponless than shackled. Geoffrey and a few other knights stepped forward to collect their gear and a few of the assassins were muttering "I'll want that back" to the knights as the handed them weapons. Ike looked to Anna who was holding out her dagger to him. He took it and placed it in his belt then picked Leila up and carried her to where all the wounded would be taken.

/~/~/

Whatever Ghost had been feeling all day suddenly stopped. As he flew in the skies he kept turning his head back toward the capital. He wondered if Anna had been rescued yet or if anyone was seriously hurt. He hated not knowing what was going on but he had his job to do. He'd just have to fly back to the capital as fast as his wings could flap. Although he was nearing his limits. Because of his detour in the city he was a running late to meet Kifar. It'd taken him half the daylight hours to reach the hideout and that was putting his wings in overdrive.

Finally, a small clearing in the large forest came into view. There stood in the middle a small two story cabin with a small garden and some livestock around it. When you live in isolation you have to support yourself and handle living in near or total isolation. The only people an informant would be in contact with are fellow assassins needing a safe house or the occasional trader that came through. But Kifar was one of the few people who liked this job. He wasn't much of a people person. He'd choose plants over people any day.

For whatever reason, Ghost decided to land behind the trees instead of in the clearing. Probably to catch his breath and not to sound too winded when he reported to Kifar. Ghost shifted back to normal in midair and fell through the tops of the trees with ease. He avoided the larger branches by moving his wings in the slightest as he was freefalling. Just before he reached the ground he snapped his wings all the way out and landed softly on his feet. He allowed himself a moment to stand still in order to catch his breath and then proceeded to the cabin.

Once he was in the clearing the heron didn't notice anything odd just yet but he did feel on edge. It wasn't until he was halfway there that he became aware of how quite it was. Where was Kifar's livestock? Last time Ghost was here there were chickens and cows all over the place. Now there was nothing but a horse in front of the cabin.

Something was wrong here he just knew. It wasn't until he was within arm's length of the door that he saw it was open slightly.

His paranoia was now at maximum level. Though he still wasn't sure what was wrong he would have to act like this was a worst case scenario. He folded his wings as tightly as he could across his back and slipped in through the slightly open door without causing a sound. Ghost didn't want to risk opening it in case the hinges would protest against it.

The hallway looked normal but Ghost stayed close to the walls and was careful where he stepped. He heard movement coming from the main room and even something being thrown to the ground. It very well could have just been Kifar. But there was just something about the sound that told Ghost that this wasn't Kifar. This person was looking for something. As he came near to the end of the hall this unknown person either hit or slammed something shut in frustration and stomped to the center of the room. What was strange was that it sounded like this person was walking through a puddle. But the heron looked down and saw fresh blood running down the hallway

"I'm going to ask one last time," an irritated voice announced. "Where is the research you stole!" Ghost took in a sharp breath when he realized whose voice that was. He edged his head around the corner to confirm his suspicions. Though he only saw his back the heron knew exactly who it was. Zephyr.

_What the hell is he doing here? _Ghost wondered. He was not about to ask him since there was no way in knowing if the madness had taken over him. He also saw a mutilated body lying before Zephyr. Though any exposed skin seemed to have been peeled off by a knife and a few fingers dissembled Ghost knew that was Kifar and that he was dead.

Growing more impatient Zephyr stomped on Kifar's chest causing Ghost to whip his head back around because it cause a horrible snapping noise. More than one rib had to have been broken and it brought back memories from his years as a slave. Then it must have dawned on Zephyr, "Damn, you must be dead."

_Of course he's dead you idiot! Why else would the whole floor be soaked with his blood!_ Ghost had no idea what to do. Part of him wanted to get out while he still had the chance but the other part of him wanted to find out if Zephyr really only did this because he lost control or if it was something more. Without thinking he bent down and dipped his fingers in the blood. Very quickly he began to write a message in cause something did happen to him.

It was only a one worded message that hopefully if the right person read it they would understand its meaning. He was half-way through it when he heard Zephyr boots slosh through the blood right toward him. Ghost didn't dare finishing the message and even held his breath as he stood frozen in place. His pounding heart might give him away to this feral being. He wasn't sure how long he could last against someone with madness.

As the steps drew closer his heart beat grew louder. He took some comfort in thinking that it was him and not Sky that was in this situation. Goddess, he didn't want to think about what Zephyr would do to her.

Suddenly Zephyr stopped moving and silence filled the room. _What is he doing?_ Ghost wondered. It was killing him that he wasn't able to see what Zephyr was up too.

Seconds felt like hours to Ghost as he waited to hear what his predator's next move was. In an instant a hand seized Ghost's arm and threw him to the ground. He had landed on his wing awkwardly and thankfully it wasn't broken but it felt the same as a jammed finger. No doubt it'd take some time to fly normal. But that was the least of his problems. Staring down at him with a crazed and delirious look was Zephyr. "Oh good, a little white bird to color red," he said to himself. Zephyr held his dagger with the blade pointed at Ghost stomach.

Zephyr was high on madness and there would be no talking him out of this. As the dagger came down on him Ghost's long life as both slave and spy flashed before his eyes.

* * *

What the heck! This is like the show Lost! I have more questions than answers each chapter. This author seriously needs to start giving some dang answers around here! Oh wait…that's me.

* * *

**Random Z-skit Fire Emblem style!**

Anna: That was offensive.

Ike: W-what are you talking about?

Anna imitation Ike's voice: _"I'm not going to just hand her over to a bunch of assassins!"_ You make it sound like all assassins are just a bunch of bad guys.

Ike: Well I mean…you kill people.

Anne: And you haven't? What exactly was your body count in the war?

Ike: That's totally different!

Anna: What about the bandits you fought before and after the war, hmm?

Ike: …

Anna: Have you ever even met another assassin other than us?

Ike: Well yeah there's Volke. He wasn't too bad even though he was a little greedy and didn't want to socialize for free. But why are you taking offense of this? It's not like I called you something horrible like a sub-human or anything like that.

Anna: Oh, so now I'm a sub-human.

Ike: Wait I didn't! I just…Oh never mind. I give up.

Don't ask why I added this.


	15. Chapter 14

I would have gotten this done last week but I got awakening now and that game has now consumed my life. Why must games do this to me! Hope you enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 14

Where am I?_ I looked all around in the fog I was in but I found nothing that looked even remotely familiar. There were small building all around me but they were so plan I couldn't recognize any of them. I was in the middle of a dirt street; that was all I knew. Maybe if I kept walking forward I'll find out where I am._

_So moved my legs forward but as I walked it felt like I was walking in the same place. For some strange reason it didn't bother me. Why? I didn't know where I was or where I was going. _

_Suddenly my foot stepped in something wet. I looked down and then wished I hadn't. What I had stepped in was blood. In this colorless void I was in was red was the only color I saw. Though I was horrified by this my eyes still traced the blood trail back to its source. And it only got worse. _

_The image I saw caused me to cover my mouth. There was a mound of rotting bodies above the flow of blood. I wanted to scream or even throw up but I neither had the voice nor the stomach to do so. All I could do was watch as insects began eating at the decomposing flesh. Just how long have they been there? No matter how hard I wanted to I couldn't look away from it. _

_What scared me the most was that I knew how they were killed. But how could I? I…just arrived to this place, didn't I?_

_Finally my trance was broken by the sound of my name being called. I turned my head toward the direction of the voice. I couldn't recognize it, yet at the same time it felt like I should know it. The voice was repeatedly calling my name. Who was it? Who was looking for me? I wanted to find out so I took off down the street. _

_More bodies lined the street on either side of me. They seemed to just appear out of nowhere but I just kept on running. But I was afraid of blood and I knew without looking down that I was running through a thin layer of a crimson river. Why wasn't it bothering me more like it normally did? _

_Suddenly the voice stopped but it appeared it had brought me to the place I need to be. The keep. Most of it was obscured by the fog but I would know this place anywhere. I had spent my whole life behind those windows and most days I found it frustrating being restricted from going outside. Maybe the voice was trying to tell me that this was where I'm meant to be. Away from the world that would harm me and where I won't be able to hurt anyone else._

_My feet began up the long stair case back to my prison. The large oak doors even opened up for me, it was just further proof that I needed to be here. Once I was back inside the doors closed behind me. I expected to feel at home but really the keep felt so foreign to me. There also wasn't a soul in sight. While I was grateful that inside wasn't full of corpse like the street the keep just felt so lonely._

_No, that feeling had always been there in my heart. I may have been surrounded by people who cared about me but I was still alone. No matter how hard anyone tried to understand me they never would; not really anyway. As if to mock me, shards of mirrors floated down as I kept walking._

_They forced me to stare at the brand on my forehead. I have never been ashamed of being born as one of the branded or wished to be someone different. But one can only ignored the whispers of people for so long. Of course no one would ever try and hurt me as long as daddy was around. But I wonder which is worse; stones and fists or words?_

_Just as I was about to climb another set of stairs my name was called out again but this time it was different and it even sounded closer. I looked up to see a man standing in front of the ten foot mosaic window. He wore dark robes with the hood up and even thought the light from the window caused a shadow to loom over his face I knew who it was. "Daddy!" I cried out. I never thought I'd be so happy to see him. It seems to have been a life time ago since the last time we spoke which didn't end on a good note either._

_He opened his arms wide. "My daughter. Where have you gone to? Everyone here was so worried about you."_

_I looked around be but the mirrors prevented me from seeing anything but my brand. "Where is everyone?" I asked him._

"_They should be around here somewhere," he said as he too looked around the room. "Come, we'll look for everyone together." _

_He held out his hand for me but I simply ran up the stairs and threw my arms around him. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed him. But the moment my hands wrapped around him he made a horrible noise. Daddy sounded like he was in great pain. _

_I quickly let him go and looked up at him. "Daddy what's wrong?" I asked him but horror stuck me when I saw his face._

_Blood was running down the corners of his mouth. He looked down at me with disbelief in his eyes. "Leila," he choked out, "What have you done?" He then fell over and didn't move or even breathe._

"_Daddy!" I sobbed. He…he can't be dead. "N-No! Daddy, please, what's wrong! Please don't go!" I pleaded to him but he didn't budge._

"Killing one of your parents wasn't enough? You had to kill both of them!" _I gasped because it was the same voice that called my name first and it was right behind me. I turned sharply to face this unknown person only there was nothing but the mirrors. But there was one in the center of them all that didn't show my brand but rather my right eye. That's when it hit me, that voice had been my own._

"_I…I didn't kill him!" I shouted angrily at the eye._

_The emerald eye narrowed at me, "_Oh really, then why are you holding the knife?"

What!? _That's when I noticed that my hands were bloody and worse of all there was a dagger._ But I…I wasn't carrying this before!_ I fell to my knees and let my tears run down my cheeks. I killed him. I killed my father just like I killed my mother! _

"Such a horrible person. The world would be better off without someone as sinful as you around. Why don't you just _disappear_!"

_The last thing I saw before darkness consumed me was all the shards pointing at me._

/~/~/

Leila shot up panting. As she tried to catch her breath she grabbed hold of her chest to make sure this was reality. Her heartbeat felt real; hopefully she was awake now and that this wasn't just another nightmare waiting for her to drop her guard. Once she calmed down she realized she was on a small mat with a thin blanket over her. _How did I end up here? _ The last thing she remember was going with Mist to check on someone.

"Leila?" A soft voice said that caused her to think the dream had started again. But when she turned to the source of the sound she saw the last person she expected to see. Sited beside her mat with a bandaged head was Anna.

"A-Anna?" The branded just started at the laguz. What was she doing here? Then her thoughts returned to her dream. "Daddy! Is daddy alright?" Leila blurted out fearing that what she had just seen wasn't a dream. What if…No, she didn't want to think of that possibility.

It was Anna's turn to look confused. She blinked at Leila for a good minute. "Your father is fine. Why wouldn't he be?" Of course, it was just another horrible nightmare. "Did you have a bad dream?" Anna asked.

"Yeah but I don't remember it," Leila lied and she was sure that the laguz knew it was one too. This wasn't the first time she had a dream like this, although the "eye" was new. Most of the time it was her brother who said those things or worse it was the mother she never knew. Years ago she used to tell Anna and Tala these dreams but anytime she did Anna would want to talk about them to try to figure out why she had them. But Leila didn't. She just wanted to forget about them and move on. So she stopped telling them

Whether Anna knew it was a lie she didn't say. That was when Leila began to notice everything around her. There were many more people in the large room with her and lying on mats like her. She could feel all their energies and how much pain they were in. The room didn't look better off than any of them. It had broken widows, paint was peeling off the walls, and any furnishings were broken. Were they even in the castle anymore?

"What happened to you and everyone else?" Leila asked.

That laguz cast her eyes to her arm that also was bandaged like her head. "What's the last thing you remember?" Anna answered with another question. Leila hated when her caretaker did that.

"Me and Mist were-"

"Mist and I," Anna corrected.

Leila really didn't feel like having a lesson right at this moment. "_We_ were exploring the castle when this laguz to came and asked Mist if she could look at his friend or something. I can't really remember after that. Everything's…fuzzy."

"I see," was all she said. When she didn't say anything Leila figured she was going to leave her in the dark like always. But Anna surprised her when she told her. "Wraiths attacked this place. During the attack you fell and hit you head."

She inhaled sharply. Of all the places for those things to show up, why here? There was no point in asking her caretaker that question since she would simply tell her, '_To understand a mindless creature like them is to become ones yourself._' But it was a little weird, her head didn't hurt. How long was she out? "How many were there?" Leila ended up asking since she was more likely to get an answer for that one. It had to be a lot if this many people were hurt.

"More than enough," Anna replied.

Then again maybe it wasn't. Leila had lost track of how many wraith attacks have been made on Lynn however she could only remember a few of them. The last thing anyone wants to do is to sit and count all those horrible creatures. "What about you?" Leila started looking at the bandages on the laguz. "You didn't get hurt because of me…did you?"

Anna gently touched her own injured arm like she had forgotten that she was hurt. "Oh this? I just got a little clumsy is all. There is no need for you to worry about me."

It was hard to read Anna even with her powers. So Leila had made it her life goal to one day to figure out what her caretaker was thinking. Anna could be having one of her bad days and Leila wouldn't know the difference. At least the laguz took good care of her health.

Suddenly Leila picked out Ike's voice out of the many in the room. She snapped her head around to see the mercenary commander talking to someone else who was lying on a mat. He happened to look up and saw that Leila was awake and quickly finished up whatever conversation he was having.

Ike strolled over and sat down beside Leila, across from Anna. "How are feeling Leila?" He asked with a gentle smile.

"I'm fine," the young branded nodded. "Is anyone hurt?" She was afraid to asked this but she need to know if…if anyone she knew had died.

"Nothing too serious that a staff wouldn't fix," he assured her. Then he added, "Although Reyson did give everyone a scare. But he woke up a while ago."

"Reyson?" Leila looked at Ike with a lost look. Was he someone she was supposed to know?

He scratched the back of his head looking slightly ill at ease all of a sudden. "Never mind," he mumbled.

"Since you say you're alright," Anna started and the next thing Leila felt a sharp pain on the top of her head. Leila covered her head with her arms. It didn't hurt too badly but it did cause a tear to form up in her eye. She looked over at Anna whose hand was formed into a fist and wore a scolding expression.

"Anna! What the hell are you doing?" Ike demanded but sounded incredibly surprised.

Leila knew it was her punishment for running away. She had left shortly after Anna and the wolf knew there was no way in Tellius her father would let her leave Lynn. Anna began her lecture, "Do you have any idea how incredibly irresponsible that was. You've probably given Tala a heart attack and your father has probably torn half of Lynn up looking for you!" The last part caused many to turn their attention to the scene but Anna paid no mind to any of the eyes on them.

With most of the throbbing gone Leila sat up straighter. "Does this mean we'll be going back to Lynn?" Leila asked and hoped she would reply with a "yes" and "now." As much as she wanted to leave Lynn she was ready to go back. Plus, after having her dream she just wanted to see her daddy again.

Anna looked startled by her question and even though Leila wasn't looking at Ike she could feel the disappointment that was in his heart. She understood his feeling perfectly. For the most part she liked everyone she had met especially Ike. He was unlike anyone she had ever seen and just so kind to everyone. Leila would miss all of them and she hoped when Mist said they'd come visit that it was a promise.

Her caretaker glanced over at Ike and the girl kept looking back and forth between the two. The vibes she was getting from them didn't seem to be in her favor. "Lynn might not be the safest place for you right now," Anna said simply.

"But-" Leila was about to protest but Ike interrupted by ruffling her hair.

"We'll talk about this later. The two of us need to talk to Elincia. Why don't you get some more sleep?"

She looked up at him from under his hand. Though he had on a bright smile she knew without reading his energies that he was exhausted. He should be the one on the mat, not her. "Okay," she murmured so not to cause him more trouble, she couldn't help but think she was becoming a burden on him.

He pulled his hand back and he and Anna stood up together. "We'll be back soon," Anna reassured her. The laguz didn't want to leave, that much Leila could understand. Where were they going?

But she didn't pursue the topic. Leila watched as the two of them walked out of the room and then laid back down. She pulled the cover over her head as if that would help drown out all the feelings of pain form the other people remaining in the room. There would be no way she would be going back to sleep not that she would want to after the dream she just woken up from.

/~/~/

"I don't like leaving Leila alone," Anna stated out loud as she and Ike were walking down the hall to the war room which was practically the only room that wasn't totally destroyed from the wraiths. The other assassins were being tended there and that's where answers will be given.

"There are still a few knights guarding the injured plus my people, she'll be safe," Ike reassured her. He still wasn't sure what to make of Anna. She cared very deeply for Leila he was certain of. The few hours Leila had been out Anna never moved from her spot, she was like a statue.

The laguz scoffed at his words. "Trust me beorc boy," she said, "it doesn't take much to get past your lot." Her pace quickened so she was about two or three steps ahead of him. She was ready to get this over with and return to Leila.

Ike just sighed. To say she was difficult was an understatement. He wasn't even sure there was a word for her. But she did have a point. If more people like Natsu come after or even more wraiths their chances were slim. "Since you seem to be in the sharing mood, care to explain your relationship with Leila?" He asked since the more people that were around the less likely she would say anything.

"Is this information you need to live?" She replied in a cold tone.

"No, but I want to know why a little girl is even associated with a group of assassins," he told her.

Anna stopped and turned her head with narrowed eyes. "Do you think this knowledge will help you gain more? If I tell you will you hold a blade under over her throat?"

She was right to be worried and Ike wasn't sure if he had the right answer for that. "I can guarantee Leila won't be brought up in the meeting," he told her. In fact, he really wasn't sure how this will all turn out. For all he knew he could be walking into a fight. "But Leila is our friend too. I'm not going to let anything happen to her. Besides, the queen isn't someone who'd hold a child hostage."

"True," Anna agreed. She leaned against the wall with her arms across her chest. "Her mother died shortly after she was born. Her father asked me to help raise her," She explained which surprised Ike that she didn't protest any further.

But that quickly was replaced by shock. "Her father hired an assassin to be her wet-nurse?"

The laguz gave him a cold look and walked toward him. With one leg she swept his feet from underneath him and hit him square in the chest with her palm. Ike fell to the floor and bumped his head on the marble. However that wasn't nearly as bad as Anna was standing over him with a look like she was about to kill him.

"How old do I look to you beorc boy?" Anna growled with venom. Ike couldn't form his words right not that it would help any. He was sure there was no right answer. "We laguz may age slower then you beorc but that doesn't give you the right assume we're old by your standards."

She quickly began walking away from him and Ike jumped back to his feet and caught up with her. When he was beside her she said, "Leila's wet-nurse was someone else entirely. I guess compared to your culture I would be considered a sort of…governess."

"Why would he ask an assassin to care for his daughter?" Ike asked again choosing his words more carefully.

"At the time the Grandmaster forced me to retire because of my health and so I was asked to care for Leila because of my experiences. Her father wanted someone with her at all time to protect her. She couldn't very well have a guard beside her at all time," She explained.

Ike was just about to ask why she would need protection but then he realized how foolish it was. Between people with madness and wraiths he was surprised her father didn't have at least ten assassins guarding her. "If her father cared so much for her safety then why would he place that seal thing on her?" He inquired which in turn received a glare from Anna.

In a much lower tone so that no one else should hear she said, "I'm only telling you this because if you continue to watch over her this is something to know. But if you so much as breathe a word of this to Leila I _will_ make you sorry you did. She knows nothing of this and it will stay that way, understand?"

"Yes," he replied since he wouldn't be getting answers if he refused. If it concerned Leila shouldn't she know?

As they kept on walking Anna didn't say anything and Ike wondered if she decided not to tell him after all until two servants came around the corner. They seemed to be too busy gossiping about the recent event that had befallen the castle to even notice Ike and Anna. Once they were past hearing range Anna began to speak. "After Leila was nearly killed by…someone with Lehran Madness her father wanted to make sure that never happened again. So he created the seal that closed a portion of her power away from her conscious mind. Anytime she feels in danger the seal takes over and so she passes out letting her unconscious mind use her hidden power. Subsequently it causes too much strain on her mind and so she has memory loss. Leila has yet to remember events before the seal takes over."

Ike's head was swirling with this new information. He wasn't sure if he comprehended all of it but there was one thing he did understand. "Are you saying Leila would be more powerful without it?" He asked in an even lower tone.

"Possibly," she replied. "When Leila was younger she had trouble controlling all the elements. Some days it was dangerous being around her. I may not like the seal that was put on her but I can't deny that it has helped with her control by only giving her enough power."

"What about that Nyoka guy? What exactly did he do to Leila?" Ike asked remembering the older assassin that touched the mark on Leila's head with blood and all hell broke loose.

The War Room was just down the hall and two guards by the closed door. Very rapidly Anna explained, "He temporarily released her full power. Normally the seal would do so on it's on but I would guess that it's wearing out each year."

His next question would be how long has such a thing been placed on her but their conversation was over. One of the knights opened the door for them but Ike had a feeling that both of them were glaring at Anna from under their helmets.

The room was overcrowded with people who were now looking better than they did a few hours before. Queen Elincia was seated at the far end of the table with Geoffrey and Lucia standing on either of her side. Titania, Soren, Tibarn, and even Giffca weren't far from the queen. Ike was happy to see that Elincia didn't look to be in as much pain.

The assassins were on the other side of the room huddled in a corner. The other wolf laguz, Ralik, Ike believed that was his name, looked awful. He was sitting on a stool hunched over and clutching his stomach. Any injuries they had were dressed but it was obvious that no healing had been done since there were red spots on their bandages. They all must have refused help like Anna had. While they were waiting for Leila to wake up she tended to her wounds herself.

All eyes were on them when they entered and Anna said in an impassive tone, "Leila's awake."

"Let's get this over with then," Ralik muttered as he stood up like nothing was wrong with him.

Everyone else began to circle around the table and there was clearly a line drawn between the two groups. The assassins kept at least an arm's between everyone else and even remained standing regardless that there were enough chairs for them. Elincia's back was probably still bothering her so she remained seated.

Ike remained standing and placed himself between the two groups. Of course everyone was filled with anticipation. _What sort of answer will we get?_ He wondered as he waited for someone to start.

Of course that person would be Elincia. "Let's not beat around the bush. I'm aware that there is a plot for my blood but why does this concern you? Why have you interfered with the affairs of Crimea?"

Nyoka narrowed his eyes at Anna. Obviously she was in trouble with him for telling them that much. But she merely replied in words that Reyson and his sister spoke. She spoke the ancient language very rapidly and Nyoka seemed to understand what she was saying since his features weren't quite as aggressive.

"Speak in tongues for all of us to hear," the hawk king snapped in irritation. Anna stopped speaking but had a feeling that she had already made her point clear.

"The people who now lie dead had every intention of coming after us the moment they had you head," Ralik defended. "We're simply nipping the threat before it becomes too bothersome."

"Then what country do you serve?" Lucia asked next. "Why would anyone be coming after you?"

"Our ties are to no country," Nyoka sneered as if the thought repulsed him. "No doubt Leila has already told you that she's from a village called Lynn. That's also where we're from. We serve our own and we look out for our own. Our only allegiance is to the one we call grandmaster; the master among masters."

"But her highness and our master aren't so different," Kyle added which caused the other assassins to shoot warning looks his way. However he ignored them all and continued with hesitation, "Lynn is compressed of both beorc and laguz. He admires the work you've accomplished in just these short months in trying to fill the rift between the two races. The last thing he wants to see is your work over and done with before it's even started."

Those words of encouragement meant more to Elincia than anything. Ike saw her eyes light up with hope at hearing that. True, she wasn't the only ruler trying to mend the relations between beorc and laguz. But still, hearing words like that probably didn't happen every day especially with half of nobility and the citizens still calling laguz the horrible name of sub-human.

"Is her highness still in danger by these people?" Geoffrey asked.

"I'll be surprised if she isn't," Nyoka said in a light tone.

With much regret in his voice Kyle said, "We've yet to find the mastermind behind this conspiracy and know that there are a couple others whose strings still being pulled."

Anna had been right; the plot for Elincia's death was still going on. None of them seemed to be lying. Either way none of them intend to risk the queen's safety.

"So we've answered a few of yours so answer one of ours," Rhona demanded in a fiery tone.

"Very well. What is it you want to know?" Elincia asked although Ike had a feeling he'd be the one to answer whatever it is they ask.

Ralik snorted, "I for one want to know why the beorc claims Natsu trusted these whelps to protect Leila."

Yep, Ike knew it. Was it possible that Natsu was an assassin too? At least before the madness took him. It would make sense why they would want to know about him if they had been brothers in arms of some sort.

He also wondered if he would have to tell them the news of his death. Anna looked to still be having trouble believing what he had told her last night but gave no evidence that she would speak up about it. It seems like weeks ago when Ike first had his conversation with Anna.

Before Ike had a chance to respond Titania spoke up. "I would much rather know why any of you are concerned with a little girl."

Ike knew why Anna was but that didn't explain for the others. They certainly weren't pleased about answering another question without anything in return. But Ike was surprised when Ralik answered her, "Her father taught us most of our skills. We're indebted to the man; the least we can do is to keep his daughter safe."

Now it was all clear, about Leila at least. Her father was a teacher for the assassins and may have very well been or still is one. Could her father be training her to become an assassin as well? Somehow Ike highly doubted that last part. He also felt like Geoffrey was dying to say "I told you so." Then again he was the one who questioned her and failed to get answers so he probably wasn't in much in the gloating mood after hearing this.

"Well Natsu wanted to keep her safe too," Ike told them fully believing that to be the case. "So much that he gave his own life to do so."

For just a split second the news didn't sink in. But when it did it was like all of them had just been kicked in the stomach. "Are you saying he's dead?" Rhona asked.

"Yeah," Ike told them. All the assassins' faces turned somber and before any of them could ask- because Ike knew one of them was going to-he began explaining how he died. Anna and the others were having a hard time believing all this; that Natsu had tried to take Leila by force and of course that he died without any visible cause.

"Did he say anything before he died?" Nyoka asked.

There was something that bothered Ike about Nyoka. He wasn't sure what it was but he was pretty sure it had nothing to do with releasing that seal thing on Leila. Nyoka just reminded Ike of Nasir. His reaction to Natsu's death didn't seem to surprise him but the news seemed to be troubling him. Ike glanced over at Titania and Soren and saw they were thinking similar thoughts. They would have to keep an extra eye on that one at least. "He told me to take care of Leila because there's a traitor in Lynn," Ike decided to tell them but left out the bit about the eclipse. He might trust Anna with her safety to an extent but that didn't mean he trusted the others. For all he knew the person Natsu was talking about was here in the room.

"This is most troubling indeed," Nyoka commented.

"But why would Natsu of all people try and capture Leila like that," Ralik said more to himself. "Something must have happened to Lynn during our absence."

"All the more reason to find out who's behind the queen's plot so we can return home," Rhona encouraged. She pointed to Geoffrey. "Yo knight boy! Hand over our gear so we can get back to work!"

"You're joking right," he rolled his eyes at her. "We still have more questions for you. We're not done here."

"Yes we are!" Nyoka barked that startled all of them. "Our questions have been satisfied. We'll take Leila with us and be on our way. Don't worry we'll take care of the people after your queen's head."

Ike was about to object to this but it was Anna to beat him to it. "No," she said in a firm voice.

Nyoka stared down at her. The two of them glared at each other like animals fighting over territory. "No?" He repeated.

"Did you not hear the beorc boy?" Anna gestured to Ike. He really wished she'd stop calling him that. "There is a traitor in Lynn. I hate to say this, but if it's true we can't trust each other. Leila will be safer with someone who isn't connected to Lynn." The wolf laguz looked Ike in the eye. With her eyes she was saying "_I'm taking you up on you offer to protect her." _

The others didn't look too convinced. "You're really willing to leave her with a bunch of sellswords?" Ralik asked her.

Anna shook her head, "Not by herself. I think at least one of us should stay with her."

"You want us to work with these people, don't you?" Rhona exclaimed.

Everyone else was surprised by this. Ike kept staring at Anna, whose back was now to him, was this her plan all along since she heard about the traitor?

She and Nyoka kept staring at one another and Ike worried she would transform again and attack him. Finally Nyoka let out a breath. "Very well," he said and then turned to the queen. "However there is a catch. Our laws forbid us form telling you too much that could compromise our job. The two parties will work separately and will inform the other if they find anything new. Fair enough?"

It certainly didn't sound too fair to Ike. But he guessed this was the best that was going to happen. For that he should at least grateful. At least no one was drawing their weapons or transforming.

"Even when this information might help someone live?" Elincia asked.

"I'm sorry," Anna replied with true remorse in her demeanor. "But we've already broken enough laws that could cause our exile. But we will keep you safe if it's within our power."

Elincia stood up but with a slight pause since her back was causing her some trouble. "Fine, do it your way. However I can't very well ignore the murders all of you have caused but nor can I ignore the sort of peace you've given my people. With Djam's death the people he was about to execute have been found innocent. We've found out that Duoqun was taxing the people for his own pleasure. Reinrag was torturing my people right before me and I can only imagine what Mailliw had planned, not to mention the others. I can only hope that when this is over Crimea and Lynn can form some sort of relation."

None of the assassins said anything. Nyoka only ordered Ralik and the kid who had remained quite during the whole meeting to stay while the others would go back and do whatever it was assassins did.

Geoffrey was about to escort the others off the castle grounds when Rhona added, "So what about our gear?"

"You don't need bows and daggers to investigate. I don't want to find another dead body. Please allow Crimea to take care of these people," Elincia answer.

"We'll see how things turn out, your highness," Nyoka said before leaving.

But if any of them wanted weapons it wouldn't be too hard for them to get them.

/~/~/

"_You see that child over there?"_ Leila heard someone whisper. She kept the blankets over her head and pretended to be asleep.

"_Don't tell me that child is the one that destroyed the dining hall," _another voice said. Leila wondered what they were talking about. Of course this wasn't the first time people whispered about things she didn't remember. She hated these people sometime. It wasn't like she chose to have these powers! Daddy, Anna, Tala, none of them could understand her.

But Leila shook these dark thoughts away from her mind; she refused to think like that. Leila's mother gave her life so she could have one. She had no right to complain about it. Instead she focused on the old man back in Caldea. He had been grateful for her power and didn't think any different of her. Leila liked to think her power was good for something. It made her smile under the covers thinking about the flood she prevented.

Then there were Ike and the others. Most of them treated her like she was one of them. Ever since that incident in Lynn she hadn't really felt like she belonged anywhere. It were these small things in life that made she want to smile all the time. Daddy always said that it was important to remember the good things in life than it was to dwell on everything that is wrong with it.

That's why she didn't want to impose on Ike anymore. Leila didn't want her problem to become his; she didn't want to see him get hurt because of her. Besides, why would he want a branded that's-

_What?_ Leila shot up from her mat, causing the women talking about her to hush up, with wide trembling eyes.

It can't be. She just felt Natsu's energies!

But he's…dead.

She felt it at the edge of her senses and so she focused in on the area. No…it wasn't him. Why did she let her hopes get up? She burned his body for crying out loud. However it was someone who shared the same energies as Natsu.

_Why would he be here?_ She wondered. Then a horrible realization hit her. Did he know about his brother's death? The two of them had never exchanged one word between them but she felt she should be the one to tell him.

Very quickly she threw the covers off and ran to the door. She may have been different but she was also easily over looked by these "adults."

/~/~/

Ike was leading Ralik back to where Leila was. The laguz had ordered the younger assassin to do a quick sweep of the area while he watched over Leila. Honestly Ike wasn't sure what to think of Ralik and didn't like the thought of leaving Leila alone with him thus the reason he was going with the laguz.

Everyone else went their own way, most going back to hunt for more information or to help clean up the mess the wraiths left. Giffca even left for Gallia to inform Caineghis in person what has happened and left Ranulf in charge of the Gallian warriors.

Ralik couldn't be all that bad since he did save Mist, the least he could do was thank him. "Your name's Ralik, right?" Ike started.

"Yeah, what about it?" The laguz snapped. He hadn't looked to please when he was given the job of guarding Leila.

"Well I just wanted to thank you for saving my sister, Mist," Ike told him.

"Whatever," Ralik shrugged. "I wouldn't have lifted my paw to help her if she hadn't been with Leila."

"Still, she probably alive thanks to you. So thank you," Ike said again.

The laguz suddenly looked uncomfortable. He scratched the back of his head and said, "Just forget about it. Is that where Leila is?"

The room where all the injured wasn't too far from them. "Yeah," Ike said. This guy wasn't too different form Anna. With her it was a little easier to talk to. "Are you and Leila close?" Ike asked so he could guess what kind of reaction Leila would have to him.

"We just know who the other is, nothing more," Ralik explained. "I only know who she is because her brother and I use to be rivals."

Mist had told him that Leila mentioned having brother but Leila never once said anything about him. "What do you mean 'use to be'?" Ike asked. That bothered Ike a little. Did that mean he was dead?

Before they reached to door Ralik said, "Don't ask that again in front of her." He didn't wait for Ike's response and walked right in. Ike followed him in. _What is going on in Lynn?_ He wondered.

Straight away Ike waked over to Leila's mat only to find it empty. His shoulders fell, _Please, don't tell me she's wondered off again?_

"Okay mercenary, where is she?" Ralik asked as he looked around the room.

"She's supposed to be here," Ike muttered.

The laguz came up beside him and slapped his forehead in frustration. So Ike and his mercenaries weren't the only ones that Leila did this to. While that was a little reassuring Ike now wondered where in goddess name Leila was. This was not the time for her to be missing.

Ralik bent down and began sniffing the blankets. "What are you doing?" Ike asked.

"Getting her scent," he replied. He then stood up and rushed out of the room. "You better come with me to make sure I don't hit that pup for going off on her own."

/~/~/

Dusk was settling over the city as Geoffrey was returning to the castle after escorting those assassins to the gate. OF course when he says "escort" he really means they took off without warning and disappeared into the city. He'd much rather have every single one of them rot in the dungeon. He did wonder what was going thought the queen's head that could cause her to work with a bunch of assassins.

But he did guess that it was their only chance at finding out who was after the queen. That much he could tell was the truth. The evidence they've found so far supported the idea that something bad was going to happen soon.

Geoffrey just let out a weary sigh. It has been a _long_ day. He just hoped there wouldn't be any more surprises, for a few hours at least.

As he neared the entrance he spotted a cloaked figure sitting against the wall. When he was closer he realized that it was a boy and he wasn't moving. The hood covered his face and the brown cloak was tattered so Geoffrey assumed he had been attacked by wraiths earlier. He stood over him and to his relief the boy was still breathing.

"Hey," Geoffrey called out to him, "are you alright?"

The boy seemed startled by him and raised his head up to meet him. However Geoffrey couldn't see his eyes since the hood covered them. "Have you ever been on the road to Tarreftnom?" The boy asked. Despite his form looking sickly he sounded half-way healthy.

It was quite an odd question to ask some random stranger. Geoffrey wondered if this kid was normal in the head. Perhaps if he humored him then the child would follow him to a healer. There didn't seem anything wrong with him but he just had this feeling that there was.

"Yes, I was there about three days ago," Geoffrey told him. Goddess, it certainly felt like it had been longer.

The child's hand began tremble and Geoffrey was afraid something was wrong with him. But then in a flash the child was standing up and Geoffrey felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. "This is for my brother, you damn bastard," the kid hissed in a low tone.

At first Geoffrey was wonder what the hell he was talking about till the hood fell down. Short silver hair and a face that wasn't too different from that lion laguz they had fought. Was this really his brother?

Numbness took over him and he looked down to see a dagger sticking out of him.

/~/~/

**Random Z-skit Fire Emblem style number 2!**

Ike: I can't believe a bunch of assassins can't keep track of a little girl.

Ralik: She may lack certain skills but the blood of assassins runs through her veins. Besides, how many does this make for you 5, 6…

Ike: Like you and the rest of your bunch like to point out we are just mercenaries.

Ralik: Damn straight you're just mercenaries! I bet other than Natsu you've never had a very challenging opponent.

Ike: We did fight most of the Daein army during the war.

Ralik:…Alright I'll give you that. But it's not like you single-handedly killed the mad-king.

Ike: Well-

Ralik: Don't tell me you're the mercenary that won the war!

Ike: The very one!

Ralik: The mad-king must have had an off day.

Ike: H-hey!

Yes I just ended this climatic cliffhanger on this note.

/~/~/

_I couldn't see who else was in there with me but I could hear and smell them. Going for help was the logical thing to do but I decided to take care to take care of this intruder myself._

"_Rookie! Don't just stand there! Go get the others!"_

"_This is disturbing, we should have heard from Ghost by now."_


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

_Just because I'm one of the sightless doesn't bother me in the least. It probably would if I at one time could see then the next could I couldn't. I can never miss what I never had. _

_My sister told me that the people who gave birth to us threw us away and that our parents found and raised us. They were beorc and we were laguz. Their scent was different from ours but other than that I would have never know the difference. Papa was an assassin and so he taught us how to defend ourselves. Sis wanted to go farther in training and so she trained with papa to become an assassin. That just left mama and me. _

_She took me to the kitchen in the keep all the days she worked. The two of us cooked the meals for everyone in the keep and also the assassins-in-training. Mama always told me I had the nose for cooking and I enjoyed every minute of it. This was my place. _

_Some day's mama would be restricted to bed so I would go work at the keep for her. I always came early before everyone else did; I just like having the place to myself for a moment. Sometimes the trainees would come and say hello to me. _

_One morning as I was walking down the stairs to the kitchen I smelled someone else already in there. And whoever it is was munching on something. I sniffed the air and smelled the fowl that was hung yesterday. Was this person eating it raw? As I descended down the stairs I heard this person scramble, probably behind a table or something. _

_I couldn't tell who was with me but I could hear and smell them. Going for help was the logical thing to do but I decided to take care of this intruder myself. I'd always be remembered as the sightless person who people could take advantage of if I didn't take care of this intruder._

_The broom was by the stairs like it always was (no one dared move things on me without telling me at least) and so I grabbed it and pretended to sweep. This person hadn't bathed in a while so it was easy to find where they were hiding by scent alone. He stopped moving so he must have known I was the blind cook._

_Very slowly I began sweeping toward the scent and acting like nothing was wrong. When I was beside the stranger and swung the broom with all my might and was pleased when I hit something solid and that it yelped. I was going for a second attack when the intruder caught it. _

"_Enough with the boom hitting!" A boy's voice called out in the ancient language. _

"_Give me a good reason to stop," I replied in the same tongue trying to pull the broom back but the boy had a stronger hold on it._

"_I'll let go just don't hit me again," the boy offered._

_I made no promises but he did release the broom. That was when I got a better smell of him which wasn't all that pleasant since it could wilt flowers. "You're a laguz," I said upon realizing it. I guess his stench covered up that smell._

"_Yeah. You might not be able to tell but I'm a wolf just like you," he explained. _

_Now I knew who he was. "You're Ryu's friend. The one who followed him back to Lynn."_

"_I'm not his friend," he stated. A lot of people must be referring to him as that. "I was just hungry and that guy made me lose my meal. I didn't follow him, just the food."_

"_Yet you're training to be an assassin, why?" I asked. My sister told me about this boy. He was two years behind her in training. _

_He let out a frustrated breath. "I guess I just got tired of living by myself and doing this is about the only thing someone my age can do. Besides…I just wanted to be with my own kind again." Your own kind? I wondered what it would be like to be surrounded by other wolf laguz. In Lynn there are only my sister and I and now this boy. He kept on going, "But that other wolf, Annie, or whatever her name is, isn't all that friendly."_

_I placed one hand on my hip. "That's my sister you're talking about," I told him._

_I heard him sniff me and he said, "You two do smell the same." He didn't say another word on that matter._

"_So do you mind telling me why you're here?" I asked him when he didn't add anything._

"_I was just hungry okay. The food they serve us just tastes awful." I swung the broom at him and by the way he grunted I probably hit him in the gut. "No more hitting!" He exclaimed._

"_That's you're second insult," I informed him. "I help prepare meals for the trainees."_

"_Excuse me for having a different taste. I've eaten nothing but the meat off dead animals for years. All that flavoring you do doesn't agree with me and the food just taste burnt to me."_

_His stomach growled and I took pity on him. I walked over to another table and picked up an apple from the basket. "If you were hungry all you had to do was ask; you didn't need to steal. I'll help you get use to cooked food if you want." I handed him the apple and heard a disgusted sound come from his mouth. "You have to eat different kinds of food so you can become a strong assassin."_

_Hesitantly, he took it and I heard him bite into it. I smiled and said, "At lunch you just come here and I'll have something I'm sure you'll like."_

_There was a brief moment of silence between them when I finally heard him again," Th-thanks…So what's your name?…You know, if I have to ask for you or something."_

_He sounded embarrassed. This was obviously something he wasn't use to doing. "I'm Tala," I told him._

"_My name's Ralik. Just so you know in case you forget what I smell like," he defined._

_There was no way I could forget his scent. But I told him, "I never forget how people smell or even their voice. But you might want to clean up or some of the others might kick you out of here."_

"_Great, another rule. I'm never going to get use to this civilized lifestyle," Ralik complained._

_I reached out touched his shoulder, which was full of muscles and found out he slightly taller than me. "I can help you with that too if you want," I offered._

_Ralik tensed up. "I-I'll think about that one." He moved from my grasp and took a few steps away before adding, "Oh, next time you're dealing with a thief don't try to take care of them all by yourself. I've heard the way other guys talk that make me sound civilized. Just find someone else to take care of them."_

_A few weeks later I walked into the kitchen on another intruder. Instead of listening to Ralik's words I chose to take care of them myself. To this day I shudder to think what they would have done to me had Ralik not arrived._

/~/~/

Tala felt her eyes open but still her surrounding did not change from when they were covered. It was odd though, normally when she dreamed about Ralik she was able to see the image she had made of him. She wondered why this time was different.

She wondered what time it was as she sat up in her seat. Tala was in the kitchen when she sat down at the table for a spell and apparently taken a nap. She had lost sleep worrying about Leila and it seems like fatigue has caught up with her.

Getting up from the table, Tala walked to the door and stepped out into the yard. The sun's heat was still in the air but she didn't feel its rays. It must be a little past dusk. The wolf laguz really was tired; she had been asleep since morning!

"There you are!" She heard someone call out to her. Tala knew instantly it was Sky but it still made her jump a little. She sniffed the air so she could find out where she was (both Sky and her brother had scents that were hard to notice if someone wasn't looking for them.)

_Oh no, _Tala thought when she couldn't smell Sky anywhere on the ground. The only other place for the heron to be was on the roof. At that moment she heard light footsteps on the shingles. No doubt Sky had jumped off the three story roof once her steps turned silent.

Sky was falling and didn't use her wings until the very last moment. Had Tala not been a wolf she wouldn't have heard Sky's silent landing right beside her. Tala had thought for sure that Sky was going to get hurt. "Oh Sky!" Tala exclaimed readying a lecture for her. "What if you had broken your leg or something and you couldn't preform your final test." And if Sky couldn't do that she would have to repeat another year of training.

A scoff came from Sky. "Please don't turn into my brother, Ghost worries enough for the all of Lynn. Anyway, I've been looking for you all day. Of course the last place I look is where I find you."

"I'm sorry," Tala apologized, "I have actually been asleep almost all day."

"Really." There was a brief moment before Sky said, "Well the bags under your eyes do look a little better."

_Have I really looked that awful? _She wondered. Tala became use to worrying over her sister but Leila was a different story. She had become another sister to them to which Tala was no longer the youngest. Tala just prayed that whoever Dishar sent to bring her back would hurry. Leila's father wanted all this to be kept a secret about his daughter's disappearance so Dishar sent someone after her. Of course a rumor was going around that Natsu was the one and with his absents in Lynn it made sense. She liked Natsu well enough but didn't trust him to keep his sanity in check, especially with Leila around. In fact she didn't trust anyone who developed Lehran Madness. Tala could still feel the scars from when Ryu tried to kill her for protecting Leila that day many years ago.

"Anyway," Sky brought her out of her thoughts, "I was wondering if you heard from Anna or anyone."

Tala just smiled because she knew what the heron was really asking. "I haven't. Are you that worried about Ghost?"

"Of course I'm worried!" She proclaimed. "Whether he admits it or not he's delicate and I have a real bad feeling something is wrong."

It was a little scary to think how much Sky sounded like Tala when Anna first became an assassin. She was scared that every knock or approach meant new of her sister's death. But this wasn't Ghost first mission. There was no telling how many he's been on by now so why was she so worried? Perhaps the stress of completing her training was getting to her. "I'm sure he's fine. And you know the others wouldn't let any danger befall him," she reasoned.

Another frustrated breath escaped Sky. "I know, but that doesn't help the bad feeling I have. Oh Tala, what if something happened to him!"

Sky's voice was cracking at the end and was probably fighting to prevent tears. Really there was nothing Tala could say to her. But knowing exactly what she was going through Tala reached out and hugged her friend. "There's nothing you can do about Ghost so you'll just have to go on with life while you wait for news," Tala told her when they separated.

"I guess it's a good thing the grandmaster doesn't tell trainees about missions otherwise I would be flying to where Ghost is right now," Sky admitted. She sounded like she had calmed down now.

"Please don't tell me you bothered Grandmaster Adish with your paranoia?"

"Of course I did, but he just said the same thing you did. And it's not paranoia. It's our sixth sense and its saved Ghost's neck dozens of-Don't shake your head at me!"

Tala was doing just that. The grandmaster has been far too busy, it was surprising he didn't shoo Sky away instantly. Then again it wasn't everyday a trainee came to the grandmaster like it was nothing. Most couldn't form straight sentences in his presence. She supposed the grandmaster couldn't resist talking to someone who wasn't scared of him.

"There should be no cause for alarm," another young sounding voice said and Tala recognized it as Scholar Dihsar's. It surprised her that she didn't hear him coming since he had to drag his left leg and most of the time had to use a staff to get around.

Turning toward the sound of his voice, Tala gave a slight bow toward him. "Scholar Dihsar, what are you doing out?"

"Well the healers are always telling me to get some exercise. I was just out walking when I heard you ladies chatting," Dihsar explained in a light tone. "That's when heard your concern for Master Ghost." To Tala it was still strange to hear Dihsar call the others masters. But ever since he was crippled in the medallion incident he had to give up his rank of master.

"Wait, you have news about them?" Sky asked.

"Indeed," he replied. "I received a progress report from my old student, Nyoka, not long ago. Everyone is faring well."

"What about Anna?" Tala couldn't help but ask. What she really wanted to ask was if Leila had been found but she couldn't ask with Sky with them.

Dihsar chuckled a little, "Of course Master Anna is well. But I suppose the two of you are right to be worried about your siblings; it is a very important mission they're on. It wouldn't be surprising if a body or two returned to Lynn. Of course it'd grieve everyone to lose any one of them."

Tala didn't respond to him after he said that and Sky was being uncharacteristically quiet. Lynn may have been home to assassins but death was still a touchy subject to be spoken so casually. Many felt uneasy around him when he talked like that and Tala was starting to feel chills run down her. But she knew she shouldn't feel that way since they weren't all that different; after all, both of their parents threw them away.

"Well, carry on. I better return to my study," Dihsar announced after a few moments of awkward silence. He began shuffle his feet past them but then suddenly stopped. "Oh Miss Tala, you wouldn't mind bringing some tea up to library would you? My leg is acting up again."

"Of course, I'll get right on it," she replied.

He continued on his way with the sound if his cane hitting the ground and the dragging of his foot. Once he was gone Sky spoke up again, "My so-called "paranoia" increases anytime he's around."

"Be nice, he's not that…okay he's a little strange but still."

There was a pause before Sky said, "Why would he be getting reports from Nyoka? Ghost or any of the informants are the only ones that send messages back to Lynn."

It was odd but it wasn't unheard of. "I'm sure it's nothing. Just focus on passing. Ghost won't be happy when he gets back and finds out you have to repeat your training."

"Sure, sure," she replied. "I guess I better get back to my drills then. I'll catch ya later Tala."

Sky took off into the air but there was something in her tone that had Tala worried. _She's planning something_. Tala only prayed that she wouldn't do anything stupid.

/~/~/

"This is for my brother, you damn bastard," Satu hissed as he watched the blue haired knight's eyes grow wide. In his hand was a dagger that was sticking out of the knight. He stabbed just above his abdomen and if he had moved in the slightest in either direction he would have hit the knight's lungs. But Satu aimed there on purpose.

It would cause great discomfort and difficulty breathing; already the knight was having a hard time catching his breath because of how hard Satu pushed the blade into his solar plexus. He didn't want to kill him, not yet anyway. Satu wanted to make him suffer the way Natsu had, the way all of them had the last few weeks.

The knight suddenly struck at Satu's hand causing him to release his grip on the dagger. He quickly took several steps away from the branded. With the blade still in him the knight hunched over panting as he held on to the weapon. He didn't dare pull it out to cause more bleeding.

Satu just pulled out a knife from his belt. Finally, some form of retribution for Natsu. Adrenaline and anticipation was running all though him that he couldn't contain it; so much that his hand started quivering.

And knight saw this. He called out to Satu. "Listen, you don't want do this. You still have your whole life ahead of you but if you kill me now it'll be over. I don't know what happened to your brother but look at you! You're not ready to take someone else's life!"

More anger filled Satu as he clenched his jaw. How dare this knight even think he knew him! "You think this is my first kill?" Satu shook his head as he glared at the knight. He probably had more blood on his hands then all the knights in Crimea. "I just can't wait to finally get revenge for my brother. In case you've forgotten he's name was Natsu and he was the laguz you fought three days ago."

"I understand wanting revenge," the knight tried to reason, "but I didn't kill him and I don't know how he even died. My death won't satisfy you!" Suddenly the knight fell to one of his knees after his little outburst. His face was twisted in pain and he was still panting. Strange, the knight wasn't scared for his life and held actual concern for him. Had Satu not hated him so much he might have been a little impressed.

"Of course Natsu wouldn't have been killed by the likes of you!" Satu snapped. His brother was one of the strongest people he knows and no damn knight would be able to come close to beating him. "I can't go after the one that killed him. The least I can do is go after the one who made him suffer in the end!"

Natsu was the only family he had left. Revenge was all Satu had left. He refused to go back to being alone, anything but that. So he didn't care what happened to him once the deed was done. After all the searching for a single knight he was finally going to kill him. When he first saw the blue hair he wanted to jump out and end it quickly. But he had to make sure it was the same person. _"Never take the life of an innocent." _That was one of the many things Natsu taught him. He would keep to these teaching until the very end for they were his last connection to his brother.

He pulled the knife in front of him and gripped it with all his might. "NOW DIE!" Satu screamed as he ran toward the blue haired knight. As he ran he felt a single tear run down his check. How much he wanted it to be Dihsar at the other end of his knife.

When he was within arm's length of the knight Satu felt something running through the ground, a surge of energy of sorts. Once he realized what it was he jumped back just in time as the land in front of him sharply rose about three inches. If he hadn't realized in time it would have been enough to make him fall. It was that girl who was protecting the knight, he knew without looking for her.

"Leila! Get out of here!" The knight yelled but it only caused him more pain as he hunched over.

Satu looked behind him to see Leila standing under the doorway just a few feet away from him. That stupid confused look she always wore was still on her face. _Why? Why does she _always_ there problem!_ At that moment the curse compelled him to capture her and he began to feel even more hatred toward her. _Stupid girl! Why did she have to show up when I was so close to avenging my brother!_

"Why are you trying to hurt him?" Leila asked. She looked slightly nervous. No doubt she was aware that Satu was also one of the ones after her too, so why the hell was she even here! Then again she wasn't the sharpest tool so she's probably still clueless about what was going on, just like when they first captured her.

He bit the inside of his check out of irritation and even drew blood. "Just leave Leila, before you end up like him," Satu said darkly, hoping she would get scared and run away.

No such luck. She kept staring at him until her emerald eyes began to glisten. It wasn't her power that caused this, it was tears. She closed her eyes and said, "I see. It was foolish of me to think you didn't know what happen to Captain Natsu."

Satu had forgotten that Leila had the ability to feel what other people felt if the emotion was strong enough. But why didn't she understand that he didn't want her anywhere near him! _Just leave you stupid girl!_ He kept repeating in his head hoping she would get the message and take heed.

However she was probably just ignoring that. She opened her eyes with a few tears trickling down her face. Having her feel sorry for him was unbearable. "But Geoffrey didn't kill Natsu!" Leila cried out. "I-He died while we were fighting…so if you want someone to pay…it should be me! Not him!"

"No Leila!" The knight, whose name was probably Geoffrey, yelled. He tried to get up, probably to try and fight Satu if he decided to go after Leila, but he failed.

As if Satu could even do such a thing. Leila made no move of leaving; she wasn't taking a fighting stance but was standing her ground. Was she seriously going to let someone kill her? That angered Satu far more than he could contain. "You stupid girl! Even if you did kill Natsu I can't kill you either!" He just blurted out. The mark was burning, warning that he was saying too much. But he didn't care. Satu held too much inside him that he couldn't possibly hold it down any more. "Just go away! This whole damn thing is all _your_ fault!"

His words wounded her at least by the hurt look she gave him but she still made no move to retreat. Instead, she began to take a step toward him making him feel more compelled to capture her. He pointed his knife at her. "STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!" He screamed at her feeling like he was cornered. He was the rabbit and she was the wolf ready to snap his neck. Out of reflex of feeling such danger he threw the knife toward her…and it was aimed right at her throat.

The curse took effect. The burning sensation in his chest caused his hand to grip over the mark out of impulse. Satu suddenly couldn't breathe as he felt his airways being closed. All he could do was helplessly watch the horror cross Leila's face as she watched the knife fly toward her. If she died then the curse would kill him as well. For a second, he thought maybe this was best. If she didn't live then there was no way Dihsar can go with on with his plans and maybe Talitha and the others would be released from the curse. He'd like to think that at least.

Just before the world grew darker around him he felt something tackle him to the ground. Amazingly he could breathe normally. However as he became aware of his surroundings he quickly looked over to where Leila had been standing only to see another man with blue hair standing there with his knife in his arm. It would seem she was still alive but his attention turned to what was on top of him after he heard a something snarl. He looked up to see a black wolf baring its fangs down at him.

/~/~/

A sharp pain ran up Ike's arm; he had just barely made it to Leila in time. Ike placed himself in front of her and the knife the sliver haired kid threw stuck itself in his forearm thankfully.

Leila walked around him hesitantly; her eyes instantly went to the blood that was slowly coming out. "I-Ike!" She cried out.

"Don't worry about it," Ike told her. He winced slightly as he pulled it out and then threw it to the ground. "See? I'm fine." He smiled at her as he showed her his wound. It didn't look nearly as bad as others he had received lately but she still looked at him like he was going to lose his arm any second.

He glanced over at Geoffrey to see a relieved look come over him. He however looked bad. They'd have to get him to a healer soon. But all their attentions shifted to where Ralik had the boy pinned down.

Ralik was growling in his wolf form as he seemed to be having trouble controlling the kid. The boy's arm was pushed against Ralik's neck in order to keep his fangs as far away from him as possible. If Ike didn't know better he would have thought Ralik was really trying to kill him the way he kept snapping at him. Then again he may have been trying to do just that.

Suddenly the boy threw Ralik off him and a swift motion jumped back to his feet while drawing two more knifes out taking the exact same fighting stance as when Ike first saw him almost a week ago standing right next to Natsu. Where had this boy been since then?

Ralik recovered just as fast as he did and for some reason shifted back. "I should have guessed I wouldn't have been able to over-power you my beast form. Natsu really taught you well," Ralik told him but kept a narrowed gaze at him.

The kid flinched at the name but he kept his full guard up. "Master Ralik, please move. This is none of your concern," he replied back in a dark tone.

"When you threaten Leila's life it becomes my business," Ralik stated in the same manner. For a moment the boy averted his eyes away from Ralik to Leila. "Satu, you better explain yourself fast before you have to fight the full force of a master," Ralik warned him.

_Satu, so that's his name. _Ike watched the boy carefully. He wasn't lowering his weapons but there was a slight tremble in his demeanor.

There was a brief pause before Satu said in a low voice, "Sorry master. I can't tell you anything. I'm sorry, but I'm not leaving until that knight is dead at my feet!"

In a flash, Satu swung both blades at Ralik who narrowly moved out of the way. Very gracefully Satu lunged one of the blades at him and Ralik deflected it by striking at his wrist. But that was only a distraction as the other blade was close to gutting the laguz. Had Ralik not jumped back that's what would have happened. But Ralik still hadn't fully recovered from the wraith attack so the knife grazed his stomach. The wolf laguz paid no mind to it as he kept on the defensive.

Without any weapons Ike wondered why Ralik didn't just transform to fight but it seems that Satu trained under Natsu so obviously he knew how to fight a laguz. He also had the exact same moves as Natsu. The same kicks, the same punches. With the uncanny similarity of the two Ike for a moment thought Satu was Natsu. There was differently some kind of relationship between them, master and student most likely, so he seemed to be out for blood for his death. But why only Geoffrey and were the others just waiting in the shadows? Ike now wished he grabbed a sword or something.

Just then Ralik caught both of Satu's hands above his head. He kept a firm hold on them as Satu struggled to be released. It was growing darker but Ike could still notice the red spot on Ralik's black tunic and that it was growing as the two of them were at a standstill. His wounds form earlier had reopened. "I know what happened to Natsu," Ralik suddenly said to him. "But he wouldn't want you getting punished for the things you've done! If you just calm down maybe I can help you!"

Hopefully Satu would listen to Ralik and then maybe they could all learn why Natsu and the others seem to have betrayed Lynn. Instead Satu just looked more peeved. "You know nothing of what really happened to him!" Satu yelled with his voice full of pain. "I can't even kill the person responsible for his death! There's no hope for me so how the hell can you possibly help me!"

His hands suddenly released the weapons in his hands. As they fell it distracted Ralik long enough for Satu to kick his knee to the side and make him drop to the ground. As Satu stood over Ralik, Ike and Leila both gasped as he pulled out yet another knife.

Before anything could happen, a figure, out of nowhere, fell from the sky and landed right on top of Satu. At first Ike thought it was an enemy but then he saw that it was the young assassin who had slammed into Satu who was now unconscious.

As Ralik sat up he groaned. "Damn it rookie! It took you long enough!"

"Sorry master. There wasn't a good angle until now," the kid apologized.

"Hold on. You mean you planned that whole thing?" Ike asked.

"Of course," Ralik said as he got back on his feet. He kept ahold of his stomach the whole time. "Ever since I smelled him on the roof I kept trying to push Satu back."

_So that was the reason he didn't transform,_ Ike concluded. He looked up to see where the young assassin had been only to wonder how he had the guts to jump that far from the ground. It was at least five stories high. Had he missed he probably would have broken his legs. Then he also wondered how badly Satu was hurt from the impact.

A few knights began coming around by now and a few of them began pointing swords at the assassins when they saw Geoffrey's state. Geoffrey had to explain to them what happened. But then two knights assisted Geoffrey to a healer while two others shackled Satu and began dragging him down to the dungeon to be interrogated later.

For a moment the four of them were quiet until Ralik glanced over at the young assassin. "Rookie! Don't just stand there! Go get the others and tell them what just happened!" Ralik barked making the kid jump. He immediately ran off to find Anna and the others.

"Satu, who exactly is he?" Ike asked once the young assassin disappeared into the night.

"He's Captain Natsu's brother," Leila answered him even though she kept looking at where Satu had been.

"His brother. But he's not…" Ike started to say but stopped. True they showed quite a resemblance but Satu lacked laguz features. Then again they could be half related and Satu could very well be a branded if that was the case.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't just hear you say that," Ralik said as he strolled toward the two of them. Ike wanted to suggest he go to a healer too since his wound had reopened but the laguz would probably object to it. Ralik placed his hand on Leila's head when he reached them and by the way his eye was twitching he was fighting the urge to strike at her. "Now little lady," he said glaring at her but she stood up looking up at him unfazed. "How many damn times do we have to tell you not to wonder off on your own?"

"I don't know," she replied simply. "Maybe…three more times?" How she came up with that number Ike couldn't guess but that frustrated Ralik to no end. He very quickly stomped away, scratching his head and muttering things Ike couldn't understand. "Ralik, since you're here does that mean the others are too?" She asked.

After hearing her question, Ralik's face turned softer (probably just realizing she didn't remember fighting the wraiths with him). "Yeah," he answered. "We're working with the sellswords and knights now to find the bad guys. Who would have ever thought we'd see the day when assassins would put themselves on the same level as them," he snorted at the end.

He probably meant it as a joke or something but that didn't change Leila's mood. "What's going to happen to Satu?" She asked innocently.

Ralik didn't give her an answer right away. But finally he said, "It will really depend on him. If what the sellsword here said is true and he is going against Lynn, well…the grandmaster most likely won't show mercy to him. That is if Crimea doesn't hang him first for openly attacking a knight."

Leila cast her gaze to the ground. Ike touched her shoulder and said, "Come on, let's wait for the others inside." She nodded weakly at him and Ike just wished the Leila they first met would return, maybe see a real smile from her.

/~/~/

Ike expected Anna and the other assassins to return to the castle in no more than an hour but they didn't show up until the next morning! Thinking they'd show up any minute Ike hardly shut his eyes, not that he would have been able to sleep after everything that happen. But he wasn't the only one who didn't get any sleep; just about half the castle was up worrying about another wraith attack.

Elincia and Lucia were both upset about what happened to Geoffrey and rarely left his side till morning came. Thankfully everyone who was injured in the attack was showing signs of improving. Mist was even able to convince Ralik to let her take a look at his wound as long as she didn't use a staff to heal him. When asked why he said he just didn't trust healing magic. Leila even commented that he had never received any form of healing staffs.

Satu woke up briefly around midnight and Ike and Ralik had been there in the dungeon at that time. He was lying on the cot, looking half-way delirious, with his hands and feet shackled together. When Ike asked him why he and his brother were after Leila he didn't give a verbal response and Ike thought Satu just couldn't understand what was being said. That was until he shook his head and pulled down the collar of his shirt to revel a strange mark over breast. Then he fell unconscious

At first Ike just thought it was his brand but then Ralik's eyes grew wide with concern. "What the hell is that?" He said out loud.

"Wouldn't that be his brand?" Ike asked.

"No brand is a word in the ancient language, especially that word" Ralik told him.

Now that he mentioned it the mark on Satu did remind Ike of the symbols on the tomes Soren and the other mages use. "Does it mean anything?"

"Translated to the modern tongue it means "servant". But in the ancient language this version holds many meanings. Duty, submission, complete obedience; that word is closer to slave than servant. In fact slavers use to brand people with cast iron to show they were nothing but objects ready to be sold," Ralik explained with disgust in his mouth. "Satu…what the hell have you been doing?"

"Maybe he was caught by a slaver at one point," Ike suggested even though it sounded very unlikely.

"He wasn't," Ralik stated plainly. Slowly he began to remove his vambrace on his right arm. "Besides, no slaver would put a mark there." He held up his bear arm and Ike saw the same symbol on his wrist. They were the same but yet different. Ralik's was faded slightly with burn marks around it from where the iron clasp had been when they branded him. Satu's looked recent, like he got it yesterday. But the thing is there was no burn marks from irons anywhere. It was like someone took a hot poker and carved the word into his skin.

"You were a slave?" Ike blurted out. Since this wasn't the first time he met someone who was once a slave it shouldn't have been that big a shocker. He guessed picturing Ralik being forced to work for anyone was too hard to imagine.

"No, thank gods. I never made it to the auction block," Ralik muttered.

After he pulled the vambrace back over his arm he walked out of the dungeon and didn't say another word to anyone till Anna and the others showed up.

In the morning Ike and a few other mercenaries were in the dining hall cleaning up the mess the wraiths left-and also a little bit from Leila's power-when the assassins appeared through the broken windows. Why they decided to sneak in and not use the front doors Ike couldn't explain. He then sent Oscar to tell Elincia they were back.

"What the hell took all of you so long?" Ralik asked them the moment they jumped inside. All of them looked about as tired as Ike and the others did. They must have been out all night.

"Sorry," Kyle apologized. "We were waiting for Ghost to return last night but he never showed."

Ralik was troubled by this news. Mist, who was helping Leila sweep up glass (which Ike was a little skeptic about letting her do that for fear she would get a cut), when she looked up and asked, "Ghost? Is that supposed to be a code for something?"

"Ghost is a person and he's our informer," Ralik said sounding a little irritated. "This is disturbing, we should have at least heard from him by now though."

"I'm more concerned with Satu," Anna said out loud. She was obviously concerned for Leila's safety since her yellow eyes kept flickering over to her. "What exactly does he know?"

"We don't know, he hasn't woken up yet," Leila told her.

"That's not all," Ralik added, "Satu has the mark of a slave on him." He received mixed looks confusion from the other assassins.

Nyoka spoke up first, "It sounds like Satu is another person we need to keep an eye on."

Leila looked down at her feet knowing full well he was talking about her. Ike wondered if this guy was always like that or if he just had something against Leila in general.

"Are you volunteering to watch him Nyoka?" Anna eyed him. Again the two of them had a staring match. Both of them looked irritated and tired and Ike was worried the two of them were about to get into another fight like they did yesterday.

Without warning Nyoka strolled away from them like nothing was wrong. "Just try not to screw up this mission then it already is," he spoke as he was leaving the hall.

About that time Elincia and some of her guards emerged in the room and Nyoka simply pushed past the knights like they were insects in his way.

/~/~/

**Random Z-skit Fire Emblem style number 3!**

Leila humming happily to herself

Rhona: Hey kido, whatcha doing?

Leila: I'm just drawing. What do you think?

Rhona: Not too bad. It's certainly a lot better than those stick figures you use to draw.

Leila: My drawings were fine back than!

Rhona: I was only teasing kido. So let's see, that one is obviously you. Who's the one beside you?"

Leila: That's Ike. I'm drawing all the Greil Mercenaries so I don't ever forget them but I only finished the two of us.

Rhona: Hmm…You wouldn't happen to have a crush on Ike would you?

Leila blushing: W-what! O-of course not!

Rhona: Oh Leila, there is no shame in admitting it. That sellsword is quite a looker.

Anna: Rhona, don't encourage her.

Rhona: Come one Anna, it's just a little harmless infatuation. All girls develop a crush sometime or another.

Anna: It certainly is not harmless. Don't put ideas in her head that can never happen.

Leila: Are you saying that because I'm a branded?

Anna: I'm not saying that. Once you have the appearance of an adult you can court whomever you wish.

Rhona: I think her father might have something different to say to that.

Anna: Besides Leila, you are far too old for him and the way she looks now will only cause controversy in society if you were to get together on an intimate level.

Leila: …

Rhona: Now Anna, if I remember correctly you use to blush every time a certain someone came out of training-

Anna with a completely red face: Okay that's enough Rhona! Come along it's time to patrol the area!

Rhona: H-hey! Hold on a second!

Leila now all alone and looking down at her drawing: That's not what I meant at all…I just wish Ike was my brother instead.

/~/~/

"_Nyoka! You damn snake! I'll kill you!"_

"_W-wait a moment. Are you sure I'm the best one to go with her? I mean…I uh…"_

"_Just promise me that you won't say those things again. Promise?"_

* * *

You're first look at Lynn and it's through the eyes of a blind person! Sorry if this felt rushed. I just didn't want to split this up.


	17. Chapter 16

I'm pretty proud of myself for getting these last few done in three weeks. I'm going to try to get the next one done in two but is that going to happen? Probably not.  
Anyway, enjoy, review, comment.

* * *

Chapter 16

_None of use wanted to betray Lynn. It was our home. Our life. A place where misfits like use felt like we belonged. Until fate had other plans for us._

_That night, when our hand was dealt, Nyoka called us to meet him in his quarters. Leila had run away and Dihsar had chosen us to bring her back safely. My brother, Natsu, accepted but I knew he was scared about leaving Lynn. He was afraid of hurting someone again. _

_To make this secret mission official we had to give a fingerprint in blood. That way it showed there was someone of this mission but did not give the identity of who. Natsu, Borka, Izzu,_ _Talitha, and I all pricked our fingers and pressed down on the scroll Nyoka had rolled out. But as we lifted our fingers from the parchment the curse carved into our skin. All five of us pulled our collars down to see the mark of the bond servant over our heart._

_That was when Nyoka began telling them what their true mission was. Very briefly he explained to them about a ritual that was to take place during an eclipse and that Leila was one of the sacrifices that they would have to bring back to them. At first we just looked at him like he had gone mad. To prove his point Nyoka asked one of us to attack him._

_Natsu charged at him but before his fist could make contact my brother just crumpled to the ground and rolled on the ground in pain. Nyoka looked down at him and said, "Careful there Natsu, if you provoke the curse enough blood may start appearing and we all know how well you and blood get along." _

_Holding his heart, Natsu said, "Damn you, what have you done to us?"_

"_It's a sort of binding contract that will end your life if you don't follow Master Dihsar's orders. Try and tell someone what we're doing and you'll die. Fail to complete your orders and you will die. The rest you can figure it out on your own time."_

_We left Lynn shortly after that. None of us wanted to face our friends and neighbors so we left in the cover of darkness. As we were about to past the perimeter of the watch towers Natsu stopped. This would be the farthest he would have gone in over twenty years. The others went on in order to give Natsu the space he needed to take that step out of Lynn for good but I stay with him. _

_With a great sigh he looked at me and said, "I'm so sorry Satu. I never meant to drag you into all this. You never signed up to live with a crazy brother or to be cursed."_

"_Your right I didn't. But I would still want to be with you rather than stay in that cabin all alone. As long as we're together…I think we'll be alright," I told him._

_Natsu wrapped his arms around me which startled me since he hadn't come close to me in years. Not after the medallion incident. He released me shortly before I could return the huge but he kept his hands on my shoulders. "Satu, I promise I'm going to get all of you out of this mess."_

_My brother looked back at Lynn one last time before pulling his hood over his ears and began walking down the mountain. I think at that moment my brother knew he wasn't going to return to Lynn. He knew he was going to die._

_We were moving at a snail's pace as we tracked down that girl. As our unfortunate fate would have it we found her three days after we left Lynn. She didn't question why we were here or protest about going back; she just followed us like a stray dog. _

_As we were heading back to Lynn we ran into a bunch of bandits that planned to loot us. They were no match for us of course and we could have easily wiped the floor with those losers but all of us were worried about how brother would react to the fighting and worse if blood was going to be spilled. So Natsu tried to settle things peacefully._

_But being stupid bandits, one of them charged right for Natsu who was making no indication that he was going to move or even fight back. Just as the bandit raised his axe at my brother he caught his hand and twisted it against the bandit's back making his weapon drop in the process. Satu heard the arm snap in the process and when Natsu kicked the bandit away from him he saw his arm bending in ways it shouldn't. _

_For moment none of the bandits moved as they stared at the man on the ground. But a battle cry emerged from their ranks as they took it as a challenge. All of them began to run at them and so we all took a fighting stance with Leila safely behind us. But that was when things started going south._

_Izzu picked up the hand axe that the broken arm bandit dropped and readied to throw it. The only thing was that Leila was in his range. As he brought it to gain more momentum he sliced though Leila's arm. Had she been any closer Izzu would have lopped off that arm. _

_What had just happened to her took a moment for it to register to everyone. Her body grew stiff as she hit the ground and I thought for sure she was dead especially since Izzu fell over gripping at were the mark was for hurting her. _

_Natsu instantly rushed over to her, forgetting completely what the smell of blood did to him. "Brother, don't!" I warned but I was too late. My brother covered his nose the moment it hit him but it was already affecting him. Natsu was struggling with his inner demon and he sounded like he was choking in doing so. We slowly began to edge back away from him; even the bandits were doing the same._

_Suddenly a horrible shriek came out of Leila that was followed by wind that knocked every single one of them back. We should be grateful for Leila in that respect since it brought Natsu back to his senses. He still kept his hand over his nose as he looked at Leila who was now unconscious at this point and didn't dare move any closer to her. She was still bleeding and if it didn't stop soon she could very easily die._

_His head snapped to the bandits. "You have a healer, yes?" He asked. At first none of them gave a response and that caused Natsu to yell, "WELL!" It would seem the madness wasn't completely gone just yet._

_Finally the leader spoke up, "We've got staffs back at our camp but no one to use 'em." _

_Frustrated, my brother kicked at the ground causing the dirt to fly everywhere. "Talitha," he said once he calmed down slightly, "you're going to have to heal her."_

_Talitha looked like he had just asked her to kill him. She was talented at magic due to the spirit she bonded with but she wasn't blessed with the healing. She nodded but looked like she was about to be sick. _

_Personally I thought it would have been better if we had just let her die since whatever Dihsar and Nyoka wanted with her it couldn't be good. But my brother cared about the girl greatly and if I had suggested that idea he would have scolded me greatly for it. _

_So Izzu carried Leila to the bandit's camp after Natsu threated to kill every last one of them if they didn't cooperate with them. The vibe my brother had was more than intimidating to say the less so of course they wouldn't want to piss him off any more than he already was._

_The five of us squeezed into a small tent and watched as Talitha attempted to heal Leila's wound. No one had said anything to Izzu about what he had done but he understood completely that what he did was wrong. He kept apologizing out loud and Natsu kept telling him not to worry about it. _

_It wasn't long after that we heard commotion outside. Natsu, Borka, and I ran out of the tent to see what was going on while Izzu guarded Talitha as she kept on healing._

_That was when I saw those mercenaries. We stood in front of the tent and watched as they fought. They were cutting through the bandits with ease (which wasn't really saying much since the bandits had zero skill) and soon we were their next opponents since they must have thought we were with those stupid bandits. Borka and I readied for a fight we were sure was coming but my brother just stood there. _

_Before any move could be made, Talitha emerged from the tent bearing bad news. She may have whispered it to my brother but I could still make out what was being said. "I can't stop the bleeding," she whispered. _

_Natsu didn't take the news well and all of us though he was going to lash out so we got out of arms reach. But instead his eyes focused on the blue-haired mercenary. That was it their way out. Natsu called out to them, "Oy, sellswords. You have healer, yes?"_

_The mercenary leader looked at his subordinates with hesitation. "Yeah," he answered._

"_Real good ones, yes?" Natus asked to make sure they weren't like Talitha._

_He reluctantly nodded to them and it was like a weight had been lifted of their shoulders. A way to save that girl and to keep her away from Dihsar had been given to them._

_Natsu threw his hands to the sky rejoicing their luck. "Oh, zhe goddess has surly smiled good fortune on us!" He praised. He turned to the tent and called Izzu to bring the Leila out._

_To keep up with the rouse of them being bandits (as much as all of us wanted to cringe at the thought of being on the same level as them) Natsu made a deal that they would "leave peacefully" if they took Leila and healed her and the mercenary leader agreed._

_For whatever reason when the leader said "Deal" Izzu just dropped Leila! He received scolding looks from all of us but we didn't have time to check if she was okay. We quickly rushed off before the curse took over and forced us to fight for Leila back once she was healed. _

_I thought we were saved at that point. I thought all of us were going to make it out of this alive. But that stupid girl just couldn't stay out of our way long enough. And my brother paid the ultimate price to buy us more time._

/~/~/

Satu began to open his eyes and then regretted it as the sunlight from a nearby window shined straight into his eyes. The pain it caused his head didn't feel too different from a hangover. As the throbbing in his forehead intensified he reached up to touch the spot where he felt the most only to find a knot the size of his palm. He also had the taste of copper in his mouth and wished he had something to drown it out with. _What the hell happened to me?_ He wondered.

But soon his eyes saw the bars in front of him and realized he was lying on a cot. It didn't take a genius to figure out that he was in jail. He still wondered how he went from fighting Master Ralik to prison ceil but this was probably the best place for him.

True he still wanted that blue haired knight dead at his feet and regretted not finishing him off while he had the chance but at least he wouldn't have to worry about capturing that girl again. With the bars on one side, thick walls surrounding him, plus a small window that not even he could squeeze through even if he wanted there would be no getting out easily. And the curse actually seemed to understanding for once.

So Satu closed his eyes again to try to go back to sleep hoping that the next time they opened he'd feel less pain in his head. But when his eyes shot open again it wasn't because he woke up. Someone was coming toward him.

He rolled off the cot and reached back to grab one of his knifes, only to realize he didn't have any. Of course they took his weapons away. He didn't like not having any means of defending himself.

He crouched low out of instinct so he could at least catch them out of surprise if it was someone after him. Recent event have made him fairly paranoid. Satu was now in the habit of looking over his shoulder a lot. Because of what he's been doing he was sure Dihsar was going to send someone to hush him.

The steps grew louder just as Satu's heart began to race with anticipation. For all he knew it was some knight coming to make sure he hadn't done anything funny. But he highly doubted that. There was no sound from heavy armor that the knights normally wore. These steps were silent like someone trained to hide in the shadows.

It was most certainly someone from Lynn. The question was who and are they working for Dihsar?

Satu received his answer when his visitor entered the dungeon. When he recognized who it was he wished it was someone else because his anger began to boil. His curse mark burn slightly at the thought of killing this man entered his mind.

Like a mad crazed beast laguz, whose blood runs through him, Satu leapt from his crouch and slammed into the bars trying to claw at the person approaching him. "Nyoka! You damn snake! I'll kill you!" Satu screeched.

Nyoka was unfazed by his declaration of hatred. The older assassin kept coming toward him until he was just a hair from Satu's hands. That pissed him off more than anything to have him so close but still out of reach him.

"You'll kill me will you?" Nyoka said as he stroked the stubble on his chin like he was pondering Satu's comment. "I'm rather surprised the curse mark hasn't caused you to scream out in pain. Looks like Natsu's death has made you numb to all pain."

"Don't you dare say his name you snake!" Satu snapped. In truth his chest was exploding in pain, he was just masking it in anger which wasn't too hard to do since Nyoka was here.

The older man just shrugged, "I could care less about what you think. But you've caused me some problems. Ralik and that sellsword saw your mark."

_What?_ Satu dropped his arms as he stared at Nyoka. He thought for sure he was only dreaming that he showed Master Ralik the Mark of the Bond Servant. But if he did that would explain the blood that was in his mouth when he woke up. The mark was warning him that he had revealed too much even if he was half-way delusional. Not that he mined, he would rather the other assassins find out about this before it was too late.

"Anyway, I thought I'd tell you that now I'll have to clean up your mess," Nyoka said bringing Satu from his thoughts. "You've been given a new mission."

Satu did _not_ like Nyoka's dark tone at that. What did this old snake have in store for him now? Was capturing Leila not bad enough?

"Very soon you'll be given an opportunity to be out of the chains. At that time you'll take the chance to kill Anna," Nyoka ordered.

The young branded gripped the iron bars with all his might. "I didn't sign up to kill any of my own! What happened to capturing that girl?" No, he could take anyone's life but not someone from Lynn. Not someone who was his brother's friend.

"You're right, but you and that little group of yours have screwed up. They'll be expecting you to take her. Don't fret to much about it you little half-breed; you do always have the option to refusing." Nyoka turned to leave him when he added, "Just a suggestion."

When he could no longer hear Nyoka's footsteps Satu banged his head against the bars. Those were his options; to kill or to die by the mark. Right now an assassin coming to keep him quite didn't sound too bad. There was no way he could kill Anna but he wasn't brave like his brother had been to refuse the orders they had been given. There was no way he could be willing die a most violent and painful death. Satu was nowhere near as strong as Natsu.

He felt tears fall from his eyes as he slid down to the floor. He hugged his knees to his chest and silently let the tears fall. _Natsu…what am I to do?_

/~/~/

Ike and the others stayed in the broken dining hall only to find out that Anna and the others found about as much as they had; nothing. Before any discussion started Anna told Leila to go help everyone else in the castle while they talked about grownup stuff. Ike was about to argue that point since this did sort of involve her but when she obeyed without question he dropped the matter. He suggested she go help Oscar and his brothers out in the courtyard.

Ranulf and Tibarn joined them just as each groups were relaying the product of their search. Thankfully there wasn't as much tension as the last meeting. Perhaps since the assassins showed up again and seemed to be straight forward with what they found or really what they didn't.

Once reports were given on each side they just waited for Nyoka to return with news about Satu in near silence. Ike found himself shifting his weight to one foot to the other because of the unease between all of them. No one

It didn't take Nyoka long to return with a grave look that didn't suit him at all. He walked in clearly disturbed by what he found out. "What's wrong Nyoka?" Kyle asked.

The older man shook his head. "It's much worse than I could have imagined. Satu's been cursed."

"What do you mean by cursed?" Ike asked. He knew it didn't sound good at all.

"The mark the sellsword and Ralik saw was a curse mark that bids the wearer to do the bidding of the curse maker. Once he woke up he showed it to me," Nyoka explained. "The curser even prohibited him from saying who it is that's pulling his strings so we're back to square one as to who is behind all this. That unfortunate boy, he nearly passed out when he showed me his mark."

He was telling the truth, that much Ike could tell. But something just didn't sit right with him. How did this guy figure out it was a curse while he and Ralik had no idea? Luckily he wasn't the only one having trouble accepting this answer too since everyone was eyeing Nyoka with doubt, the other assassins included. Ralik even went as far as to question him. "And you know so much about curse because why?" The wolf asked.

Nyoka actually looked annoyed at being doubted. "Unlike you, I not only train my body but my mind as well. Maybe if you stepped into a library you'd learn something for once," he replied quick as a whip and sharp as a knife.

Up until now Ike had thought that Anna would start a fight with Nyoka but really he should have been worried that Ralik would attack. The wolf laguz was growling at Nyoka and Ike was expecting him transform and just pounce on him. Nyoka arm from where Anna bit him yesterday was still red.

Somehow Nyoka ignored the pissed off laguz and added, "I always thought such things were old wives tales but after seeing such a thing I'm not really sure what to think."

"So what do you suggest we do to combat such things?" Elincia asked.

Anna placed her hand on Ralik's shoulder, probably to keep him from attacking Nyoka since he wasn't letting what he said go lightly, and said, "I say we notify the grandmaster on this situation. He can at least supply us more knowledge on the curse plus warn him incase more people like Satu are already in Lynn."

"I've no objective to that. But can I assume that now that our affairs seem to be tangled together that we'll receive full cooperation from both parties?" Elincia inquired.

A few of the assassins didn't look too thrilled at the idea but Nyoka surprised all of them. "We don't have much of a choice at this point; not if we want our kin to survive another incident. I believe it'll be beneficial for all of us." Nyoka walked toward the queen and held out his hand to her. "I suppose we can work together on the same team, at least until this matter is resolved. It'll have to be the grandmaster's decision on what to do afterwards."

Out of all the assassins (other than Ralik) Ike would have thought Nyoka to have been the last one who'd want to play nice with them. But Elincia accepted his hand and the pact was made. Mercenaries, knights, and assassins were now all working together.

"I suppose the first thing we should do is one of us head over to our informant and send the message to the grandmaster," Ralik declared their first action.

"Couldn't you send the message from here?" To Ike that still sounded like they'd be left in the dark about their matters.

Ralik rolled his eyes, "One of us would still have to go and it'll take over a day if you run all the way. Trust us it'll be faster just to head to our informant. Plus a friend of ours was heading there and he's failed to even let us know what the hell is going which is rare for him. That's why I'm going to kick some sense into that bird brain of his."

"No way dog!" Rhona interrupted. "Kifar hates your guts. He probably won't believe a word that you say."

"I'll go," Anna said and before anyone could object to it she added, "I can get there just as fast as Ralik."

"Hold up a sec," Tibarn suddenly barged into the conversation. "I've kept quite since this is Crimea's problem and needs to be solved by Crimea. But I sure as hell won't trust these guys to go on by themselves."

"Are you suggesting some scrawny beorc keep up with a beast laguz, hawk king? If that's the case we might as well head to Lynn," Ralik complained.

The hawk king actually laughed at that. "Who do you think I am? Of course I'm not suggesting that. The only thing to keep up with a laguz is a laguz." Without warning he shoved Ranulf who was beside him toward them. "Ranulf will accompany the she-wolf."

Anna looked away from Ranulf for some strange reason and Ranulf's face turned red like it did when they found out she was a woman. He kept looking back and forth between everyone probably how he got drafted into this.

"Fine the Gallian beast can go," Ralik agreed and the other assassins slowly nodded as well but Anna refused to even look at the blue cat laguz.

"W-wait a moment. Are you sure I'm the best one to go with her? I mean…I uh…" Ranulf didn't seem to be able to get his point across as he grew more uneasy by the second.

Before he could Anna said in a very clear and firm voice, "I want my gear." This just made Ranulf look even more troubled.

"Girl you're a laguz," Tibarn told her. "Why do you need beorc weapons?"

"I agree with King Tibarn," Lucia stated. "I feel better about sending Sir Ranulf with you the fewer weapons you have."

_But she can't fight, _Ike thought as he remembered the toll it took on her when she shifted. The other assassins were glaring at both Lucia and Tibarn but didn't say anything even though they were thinking the same thing. But for the same reason Ike wasn't going to tell them why she needed beorc weapons. Ike understood that a laguz's pride was in their transformation; how strong or fast they were. It would cause such embarrassment to her that neither Ike nor her fellow assassins would want to put her through that.

Just as Anna was about to admit defeat and took one step away Elincia said, "Bring her things here."

"You highness, I must disagree with that," Lucia spoke up but Elincia waved her hand in front of her.

"There will be no need to bring all her weapons, just a few. But I want to show I have good faith in them."

"…Very well your highness." Lucia left the hall to retrieve Anna's things.

Ike couldn't help but grin at Elincia. She spared Anna of the humiliation since she too witnessed what Anna's transformation causes her. Anna looked back at the queen and in her eyes Ike could see the look of gratitude. She inclined her head toward the queen ever slightly but Elincia noticed it and returned it with a smile.

Very quickly Lucia returned with Anna's white hooded tunic, which still had her blood on it, as well as a few of her weapons. Very quickly she untied the two sashes from around her waist and then slipped the tunic over her head not bothering to pull her hair out. She returned her sashes to their place as well as the belt that held a few of her knives. Lastly, she equipped her vambraces and tested the blade that was inside them. All was done in under a minute like she was preparing for a battle.

Without saying anything Anna took off in a sprint and jumped through one of the broken windows. Ranulf just signed, "How do I always get myself in these situations?" He then shifted and proceeded to follow after her and soon the two laguz were out of sight.

"Until we hear from them we better stay and make sure nothing else happens," Nyoka informed them which amazed everyone that it came from Nyoka's mouth, the one who refused to work with them in the beginning.

"So what will you all be doing?" Elincia asked him.

"We'll patrol the grounds if you'd like and make sure no one like Satu attacks your knights again," Nyoka suggested.

Elincia nodded. "That should be fine, but I must insist that you remain weaponless."

Rhona began tapping her foot. "Geez you love making our job difficult, don't you?" She mumbled.

But none of the others were going to make it a big deal either because they were too tired or didn't feel like having the same argument they had yesterday. Nyoka then turned to Ralik, "With Anna gone that means it'll be your responsibility to watch Leila."

Like he had just been punched in the gut Ralik looked at older man and said in a tired voice, "You've got to be kidding. I've been up for last twenty-four hours watching her. Couldn't one of you do it?" He then pointed at Rhona. "Woman, you sort of…feminine…you'd probably do a better job than I would keeping up with her."

Ike was surprised that Rhona didn't punch him for a comment like that but it was clear on her face that she wanted to. Through clenched teeth she mumbled, "_I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that_."

With a smile Kyle told him, "Now Ralik, you are the best tracker among us." Sounded like all of them have had some kind of experience babysitting Leila or something and none of them were in much of a hurry to do it again. Not that Ike could really blame them too much. Of course they'd all probably change their tune if Leila was actually here.

Ralik narrowed his eyes at all of them as they left. "Leila should be with my group right now so you could catch up on some sleep if you want," Ike offered the laguz feeling a little sorry for him.

"I might take you up on that offer," Ralik mumbled as he walked past Ike. The way he looked he very well could have passed out right now. In fact Ike would have like nothing more than to lie down for just ten minutes. But maybe later, right now there was too much stuff to be done.

/~/~/

_Come on. There's a big old world out there for you to see. You can't die now, _Leila encouraged the white tulip that was wilting between her hands. She was coxing the needed nutrients in the ground to the flower so it wouldn't die. Many of them were probably trampled on because of the wraiths and so the plant beds in the courtyard didn't look very appealing. Most of the others were busy fixing the structural damage to the stairs and walls. Others, like her and the mercenaries, were working on the landscape. Mounds of dirt must have been flung in the fight; even a tree was turned over. Leila just thought she'd make it look a little better with some flowers that were alive.

She'd done this before. Back home she kept some flowers from dying by doing the same thing (of course they didn't look as bad as they did now). When the flower didn't change from its poor state Leila figured that it was too far gone. Its only choice was to give up and die. Could she not even save a little flower? Feeling a bit discouraged she removed her hands to start on another one when the tulip began to straighten its stem. It was still bruised looking and unhealthy so any gardener would pull it from its roots right now but Leila couldn't help but smile at it. _There's still hope for you. _"Tell your friends not to give up too," she ordered the tulip before she moved to the next one.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop talking to the plants?" Shinon asked sounding more annoyed than the last time he said it. The archers arm was still in a sling but that didn't excuse him from the labor. Leila imagined Titania had made him and so now he was stuck tending to the flower beds with her.

Honestly Leila hadn't realized she had said that out loud. "I forgot," she told him. The archer just rolled his eyes at her as he continued his one armed job in clearing the garden of all debris. She knew the red headed man didn't think too fondly of her and she figured this was the opportunity to fix that. Although annoying him probably wasn't the road to take to get him to like her.

"_Just go away! This whole damn thing is all your fault!" _Satu's words from last night still hung over her like a cloud. His rage and bitterness toward her were clear as day to her even without her powers. She'd been feared and blamed a lot over the years so she should be used to it by now. But Satu was the first person to be upfront about his disgust in her instead of whispering and hiding so her senses would discover it like everyone else. True Shinon and Soren never hid what they thought about her but they also didn't avoid her like the plague. Some would be hurt by those actions but to her she really appreciated their honesty.

As Shinon threw out a broken piece of whatever the marble belonged to he also pulled out a few of the withered flowers. "What are you doing?" She declared slightly horrified by his act.

He was startled by her outburst. "Getting rid of the dead ones," he defended.

"Well they are now!" Leila stated feeling the last bit of life leave the flowers in his hand.

Shinon just shook his head, "Fine, if I'm not doing it the way you like you can do it all yourself. How's that?" He sounded pretty mad.

Leila herself couldn't understand why she herself so upset. Flowers, insects, even people died every day so she was already aware of feeling life leave someone or something. It could just be all the constant energies she was feeling the last few days being her in Crimea's capital. There weren't near as many people in Lynn as there are in the castle. "I…I'm sorry," she apologized for her outburst.

"Whatever, mercenaries of our caliber shouldn't be doing work like this anyway," Shinon grumbled.

"Come uncle Shinon, it's not that bad," Rolf said. He was beside Leila doing exactly the same thing as them. His two brothers were trying to remove the fallen tree not far from them, although she rather wished they wouldn't since it was still full of life.

"Not you too Rolf," Shinon sighed.

Leila took a moment to try and calm back down so she didn't hear what was said next. But it was at that moment she realized that Anna was no longer on the castle grounds. Could it be she knew her caretaker left once again without telling her bye? She knew Anna probably had something important to do right away but it still hurt a little especially since this was like the hundredth time.

She was trying to drown out the other energies around her in order to keep some sanity so she didn't hear when her name kept being called. There was a tap on her shoulder and it caused her to jump. Looking up she saw it was Boyd. The green haired axe wielder pointed to the tree, "That thing's roots won't give. Would you care to help us put it back in the dirt?"

For some reason her head nodded when she wanted to say "no" and her body even got up to follow him. There were so many people around that already thought her strange for what she could do. Back in Caldea when she made that wall she didn't think about what would happen afterwards. It was on impulse and sort of a life or death situation. The same thing could very well happen again and she didn't see that kind old man anywhere.

Throwing her hands down to the ground she reached out with her energy. _The tree's like a sheep that needs help up, _she was informing the soil around it. _We have to help it up or it'll die._ As she imagined the earth pushing the tree up she felt the ground do just that until it was back in its hole where it belonged. Then she instructed the top that was now up to wrap around the base of the so it wouldn't fall over again anytime soon.

When she opened her eyes she saw the large tree standing proud and tall as its leaves rustled in the small breeze. Oscar and Boyd were smiling at her for her good work but soon she became aware of the stares that were behind her.

Looking back at the knights and castle staff she saw them looking at her like the villagers in Caldea did and even back home. A cold look that made her feel like they wanted her existence to be erase from their sight. _Oh no, it's happening again! _Leila felt her throat tighten when she was felt what they did. They saw her as something wrong and unusual.

Maybe she was a mistake like her dream said. A lot of people would still be alive if she hadn't been born. She felt herself be split in half; one side thinking she was worthless and the other that was selfish because she still wanted to live regardless if she's had more years than others. _What have I done to deserve everyone to be scared of me?_ She wondered as her face grew warm from the tears that were starting to fall. She then felt the concern that was in Oscar and Boyd because no doubt they saw her tears.

Finally, she snapped. "Stop looking at me!" She yelled at everyone. But that only caused them to stare at her more. She couldn't take it anymore, so she quickly got back to her feet and ran to escape the people's gaze. Rolf and his brothers called out for her but she ignored them and kept running.

Leila found herself running back into the castle, probably somewhere in her subconscious she thought she was going back to the keep to where her father was. However she soon realized she wasn't in Lynn. She stopped running once she was out of breath and didn't know where in the castle she had stumbled in but didn't really care at that moment.

She slid into a corner and began to cry softly into her knees. She recalled other moments like these when she'd sit in her daddy's lap and he'd rub her back until she calmed back down. There was even one time when Ryu found her in the same state she was in now. Her brother hugged her until she had finally stopped crying and that memory alone made her cry harder because she knew something like that would never happen again.

Burying her face further into her skirt she hoped to hide from anyone nearby. It was strange; she wanted to be comforted but at the same time didn't want anyone to see her in such a miserable state. She chuckled a little at realizing that.

Ike was also the last person she wanted to see in her state. No doubt her eyes were red and puffy and her face soaked with her own fluids. She still felt pretty embarrassed about crying in front of him when she was burning Natsu's body.

Suddenly she felt a gentle hand on her head. She had been so absorbed with how she was feeling to notice anyone coming near her. Not recognizing who it was she slowly raised her head to see. Her eyes first noticed the pure white wings on the man's back, one of which had a splint on it. Other than Ghost she had never seen a heron laguz. Of course she knew it wasn't Ghost not only because this one lacked any black feathers but because this man hand long hair and was dressed very regally neither which suited the heron assassin. But the heron that was knelt in front of her smiled kindly at her. "There is no reason for you to be crying all alone," he said to her.

A smile crept on her face. He was a heron and so she wouldn't have to explain why she was so miserable because that was always the worst part. To her she could forget the things that happened but when they were put to words and escaped her mouth it became more real. Like her in a sense, he probably could see into her heart. Leila wanted to wrap her arms around him but since he was a stranger she didn't.

After a few more whimpers and even a hiccup she wiped her eyes with her sleeve. No doubt she still looked awful. "Thank you," she said feeling slightly better. It wasn't the comfort she had been wanting but it was all the same

His arm dropped down. "It is the least I could do. After all I owe my life to you, Leila."

Leila tilted her head at him, _who is he and how does he know my name? _"Forgive me, but have we met?" She asked him. The young branded searched her brain but could remember ever seeing him before.

"Well I guess we never were properly introduced. My name is Reyson." The heron extended his hand toward her.

_Oh, so this is Reyson! _She remembered just before her mind went fuzzy that Mist was going to check on someone with that same name. "I'm Leila." She shook his hand which she noted that he had a pretty firm grip for a heron. Once they released each other's grip she asked, "So I saved your life? How'd I do that?"

It was Reyson's turn to look at her strangely. "It happened when those shadow creatures started attacking, don't you remember?"

So it happened when her brain refused to remember it. She kind of wished she could remember this wraith attack, so much seemed to have happened! "Yesterday is a bit fuzzy. I didn't know we were attacked until they told me."

"Don't feel too bad, I was passed out during most of it so I don't either. But just before those things showed themselves they were…I'm not really sure what happened. It seemed like they were trying to get inside my head and but then you used some strange wind magic that knocked all of us back."

There it was again, someone else telling her she controlled the wind. Surely they weren't all just exaggerating, but why didn't she remember doing it? Leila had tried to bend the wind but try as she might she couldn't do it.

Her eyes wondered to the splint in Reyson's wing and then she recalled when he said 'knocked all of us back.' "Did I do that to you?" She asked sheepishly as she kept her eyes on his wing already feeling the guilt build up in her.

Reyson followed her gaze and stared at the broken wing for some time. "It's more my fault for being so frail," he told her. Before she had the chance to think he was simply just sparing her feeling he added, "Trust me this is better than what could have happened if you hadn't stepped in with you magic."

Here was the old man from Caldea she was looking for earlier. Hearing Reyson's words made her thankful she had her powers when she wished she didn't. _It's more important to think of the good things in life than the bad, _that was what her father would always say to her after she would cry. She was beyond grateful she met him. To hear that she kept him somewhat safe was very reassuring. His words also made her determined. She was going to learn how to use the wind and she was determined to remember how.

She quickly stood up and hugged Reyson's neck. He was caught off guard by this but Leila let go just as quickly. "I fell a lot better now. Thank you Reyson," she thanked him again.

Before he could even respond she already took off down the hall to find the person she was going to make teach her how to control wind. She only hoped he'd agree.

**/~/~/**

**Random Z-skit Fire Emblem style number 4!**

Ike: Do you really think it was okay sending Ranulf alone with Anna?

Tibarn: I'm sure he'll be fine. That one can take care of himself.

Colin suddenly appearing: So you all still don't really trust us.

Startled, Ike: W-when did you get here?

Colin: Oh, I uh…just happened to be passing by and heard you conversation. I'm sorry for eavesdropping.

Tibarn: If ever I heard a lie it'd be now. That older beorc told you to keep an eye on us, didn't he?

Colin: …

Tibarn: I'll take you silence as a yes.

Ike: Great, we may be working together but neither side trust the other.

Tibarn: I wonder if this is all just some plan to hoodwink us and Ranulf will be backstabbed by that she-wolf. *Both he and Ike stare at Colin*

Colin: Huh? W-why are you two looking at me? I-if you think I'm just going to tell you if we have such plans…t-than the jokes on you 'cause I don't know anything.

Ike: No need to sound so proud about it.

Colin: Well it's the truth. I'm not an assassin yet so I'm not yet worthy to be trusted. They won't even tell me who that girl is.

Ike: Wait, you don't know who Leila is?

Colin: No, but it's not that big a deal…I don't know a lot a people in Lynn.

Tibarn: Alright, go on back to yer masters and we'll pretend we didn't have this conversation.

Colin: A-aright then. *Leaves*

Ike: So they don't even trust someone whose not in their ranks.

Tibarn: You know what that means don't you? We'll have sleep with two eyes open.

Ike to himself: (I don't know, I still feel like I can trust Anna.)

* * *

_My whole left side was numb! I couldn't even stand because of how much pain I was in._

"_Good you're back, did you find out anything about that man that was decapitated?"_

_The air exploded and by the time he looked up he say flames pouring out of the window of the library._


	18. Chapter 17

It's a little shorter than it normally is and I knew it'd take me three weeks since I had finials to complete. Oh well at least I consistent with updates.  
Enjoy and review!

* * *

Chapter 17

_My first mission didn't go so well. I was part of a team that was to investigate a slaver who we believed captured some of our own. To this day I still hate stealth but back then I was much more arrogant about it. It was no surprise that I was captured. _

_I may have been able to escape (then again it could just be my arrogance talking) but there was no chance of getting away when they stuck a bit of laguz blade in my leg. This slaver was smart, the moment any laguz gave him any trouble he broke those poisoned blades in them. When one of those just cut through it burns worse than any flame but when it doesn't leave it sets the whole body on fire. With just a little bit I was in excruciating pain. However I still resisted, I was not going down without a fight. This only earned me another broken blade in my shoulder this time. _

_My whole left side was now numb! I couldn't even stand because of how much pain I was in. Before they threw me in a cage to be shipped to the auction block they branded me as an object to be sold. The iron clasped remained on my left wrist until the metal became cold again. I was too weak to resist and because my blood was already set ablaze by the laguz blade I couldn't really feel the hot iron. To this day the only person I have shown my scars from that day willingly to has been Tala. _

_As I lay in my cage I thought back to how my life has ended up this way. Did I survive the desert crossing, escape capture, and kept most of my sanity in the wild just to become a slave? Then I remembered watching as my grandfather was slain so I might live. That was enough for me to reach up to my shoulder and try to pull the blade bit out. However without any kind of gloves or gauntlets the blade burned my bare fingers. So I bunched up my tunic and used it as a glove to pull out the blade. _

_Trying to pull it and staying quite so not to alert anyone to what I was doing was no easy task. As a result it took several agonizing minutes to remove the blade from my shoulder. The bit fell to the side with a clang and I took several sharp breaths as I trembled slightly. There was some relief in my shoulder but that poison that harms laguz was still in my blood. _

_When I started to sit up to work on my leg I heard a commotion not far from where I was. There was a fight going on and people were dying. I sat listening trying to figure out what was going on. It could have been that one of the laguz was fighting back but there weren't any animal cries to be heard. Suddenly as it grew quite a slaver ran into the room I was in and fell forward with a sword in his back._

_Slow steps approached me and I recognized the scent instantly. A boy with a strange brand over his left eye came into view and pulled his sword out of the man's back. As he walked toward me I scowled at him, "Damn it Ryu! I could have gotten out of here on my own!"_

_Ryu smiled, the kind that made you want to punch his teeth in. "Yes, I can see you were getting right to that seeing as you look like you're about to pass out any minute. Tell me Ralik," with a flick of his sword the lock on my cage fell and he opened the door, "were you going to play dead or were you planning to scare them in that pathetic state you're in."_

_It'd been over five years since I first met him and he still managed to piss me off. "You get stabbed by a blade that's poisonous to your half-blood and we'll see how well you take it," I growled as I crawled out of the cage. It was difficult to move with the laguz edge still in my leg._

"_I probably won't have to worry about that for some time," he said. In a quick movement Ryu pulled the blade out of my lag causing me to yelp. _

_With clenched teeth I said, "If it wasn't for that damn thing I wouldn't have to be shown up by you. Don't tell me you're here all by yourself?" It was slightly embarrassing that Ryu belled me out of this mess. Surely he wasn't the only assassin here. _

"_The others are here as well, including my father," Ryu told me. He helped me to my feet but I still could not stand on my own so I had to lean most of my weight on him. _

"_Does that mean this is the slaver that took some of our people?" I asked and he nodded. Hopefully this meant he didn't screw this mission up to bad and that everyone that was taken was alright. But the brand that now burned my wrist and scars that blade left behind will forever be my reminder of what my foolish self is capable of doing. As we started walking out of that room I muttered, "Why'd you have to come?"_

_Again Ryu put on that arrogant smile of his, "Tala made me promise I'd save your sorry ass if you got into trouble."_

_My face heated up at the mere mention of her name. Why did that bastard have to mention _her_! _

/~/~/

"-ey! Come on, get up!" A voice rang in the wolf laguz's ears. Ralik wanted to swat at whoever was trying to wake him, it felt like he had _just_ closed his eyes. But then he remembered that he was supposed to be watching Leila and this could be something in concern to her. Unwillingly he opened his to see the scrawny beorc girl that was with Leila, Misty or whatever her name is, standing in front of him. "Good, you're awake!"

Ralik groaned at her somewhat cheerful persona. "What do you want girl?" He asked in the tone Leila would have describe as grouchy. He wondered how she was able to find him. The wolf laguz just found a secluded spot outside and sat against the wall with his eyes closed. Apparently that was enough to drift him into a deep slumber. Those few minutes he got would have to at least last all day.

The beorc girl paid no mind to his harsh tone. "It's Leila," she said sounding less cheerful than her last sentence.

Hearing her name caused him to quickly get to his feet thinking she'd been kidnaped or something. "What happened? Where is she?" He urged her to answer. Ralik was ready to shift and chase after the dastard that had her. There was no way he could live with himself if something happened to her on his watch, and while he was sleeping no doubt! And then of course the thought of what Anna would do to him caused him to shiver inside. And her father! Oh the horrors he'd inflect on him if his little girl was hurt!

She must have realized what he was thinking because she waved his hands in front of him. "No, nothing like that!" Ralik dropped his shoulders both out of relief that nothing has harmed Leila and that he was woken up for something that wasn't a life or death situation. Misty continued, "Boyd told me that Leila ran off looking really upset and I can't find her anywhere. I just want to make sure she's alright."

A sigh came out of Ralik's mouth. Now knowing that Leila was probably crying somewhere there was no way in hell he could go back to sleep. At least Misty here would deal with all the feely crap. Ralik could handle tears. Last time he had to was when Anna and Tala's mother died and Tala cried into his shoulder. He'd go on any mission no matter how dangerous, just don't give him a crying woman to comfort. "Fine, fine. I'll help you look for her," he told her.

She grinned at him, "You really are a big softy at heart."

Ralik narrowed his eyes at her; he couldn't believe Leila told her that! He started walking away. "Enough talking. Let's just find her Misty."

He heard her huff behind him. "My name is Mist!" She exclaimed.

He simply shrugged and said, "Whatever."

/~/~/

There was a certain freedom one gets when they shift into their other form. To be able to cross great distances on four legs instead of just two. To have the wind blow through your fur. Just to have that mindset that you're invincible in that state. If only Anna had the luxury of feeling like that.

She had been traveling in her beast form for a few hours and she was pushing her limit. On a good day she could stay shifted for this long no problem. However since she had been neglecting her medicine for the last few days and spent the night in a damp prison she was having one of her worse days. Every time her paws stepped on the earth it sent a shockwave of pain up her spine and every other breath was filled with blurry vision.

Gods, she couldn't even see straight! Anna had to take a break or she could black out.

Before she passed another tree she stopped and shifted back to normal. With one arm she supported herself against a nearby tree. A few cold drops from my brow fell down her face and she imagined her face was as white as her sister's hair. She kept taking deep breaths and was grateful for the small breeze. As she reached down in her pouch to retriever her medicine she heard someone approach behind her on two legs.

_Shit! _She had forgotten that the Gallian warrior was with her! The cat laguz, Ranulf, was still edgy around her (and with good reason too) so he kept a wide distance from her. "Is uh everything…okay? ...Or are we there?" He sounded nervous and she could hear him squirming as he waited for her response.

There was no way she was going to tell him she was sick! She took one more deep breath to regain her usual composer and kept her back to him so he wouldn't see her face. "We're almost there. I stopped because your anxiety around me is becoming bothersome," she said in a plain voice. It wasn't a complete lie, the way he'd been avoiding her has been annoying. She hadn't been too pleased to hear he was to accompany her after their first interaction with one another and it would seem the feeling was mutual. The sooner they got over the awkwardness the better.

Ranulf must have thought he was hiding it well because he sounded both surprised and flustered, "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to…y-you know…grab you. It's…It's not like I meant to-"

Anna let out a loud sigh. Normally having a man squirm was pretty enjoyable but with this one it was just sort of pathetic. Her legs started shaking slightly so she turned around to lean her full weight against the tree. As she watched the cat laguz become more flustered by the minute she crossed her arms over her chest. "Look," she started, "you're not the first person to grab my breast. There aren't that many females in the assassin order so anytime I spar some of the men they tend to get a little touchy." _Of course that would earn them a swift kick between the legs. _

His face was still beet red but he managed to calm down some. "Well I certainly didn't mean to. I had no idea you were a woman." As soon as he said that he regretted and any insecure woman who heard it would have been greatly offended. "I-I'm not saying you don't look like a woman! Y-you're very feminine. N-not that I've been looking! I just…"

Anna actually began to chuckle slightly at his fumbling. Honestly the fact he couldn't tell she was a woman was a complement. It meant that she concealed her identity well, that she was a good assassin. "Listen, just forget that ever happened," she said to let him out of his misery. "Let's just start with a clean slate since we got off on the wrong hand."

"Alright." Ranulf's face finally returned to his regular color. "Well we haven't really introduced ourselves, I'm Ranulf."

"Anna," she introduced herself. But then she smiled and said in a casual tone, "Oh but Ranulf, if your hands happen to wander I _will _stab you this time." He didn't seem like the type who'd be a repeat offender, she just want to mess with his head a little to help take her mind off her health.

More beads of sweat fell down the side of her face. The breeze was now gone and without it was becoming unbearably hot. Maybe asking for her long tunic was a bad idea. As much as she hated the cold it didn't seem like such a bad thing that that moment.

He gave a tense chuckle as he scratched the back of his head. "I'll keep that in mind. Since that's out of the way should we get going?"

She dreaded the thought of having to shift back but there was no way she could prolong this conversation. At least they weren't far from Kifar's. _You can make it, you can make it. _She coxed herself into thinking. Anna nodded at the Gallian warrior, "Let's go then."

The wolf laguz left her sturdy support on wobbly feet. She was on her fourth stop when her legs gave out and was forced to her knees. In just a few minutes the temperature seemed to have increased. Her stomach caused her to lunge forward on her hands. "Anna! Are you alright?" Ranulf called out sounding worried. She felt one of his hands on her shoulder but he quickly removed it probably remembering her earlier threat. All she could think was not to throw up, she didn't want to have to explain to him what was wrong.

Anna reached for her medicine again but when she pulled it out of her pouch the ground began spinning making her stomach feel worse. Soon everything grew dark and the last thing she could hear was someone crying out her name.

/~/~/

Ike was hauling a cart load of broken objects with Titania down the hall to the burn pile outside. Titania walked beside the cart picking up broken glass someone else missed as Ike pushed. This was their fifth haul since they started and the trash pile was growing. Hopefully everything will burn so they wouldn't have to move all that stuff again. If it didn't he could always ask Leila to help make the flames hotter.

But after Oscar and Boyd came and told him what happened to Leila that probably wasn't the best thing to ask of her. Mist certainly didn't like hearing that and immediately asked him if she could go find her. Ike didn't hesitate to let her go and now he hoped she did and that Leila was better.

As the two of them proceeded down the corridor Ike happened to look down another hall and saw Elincia sweeping the floor. She didn't quite look as regal as she normally did but she still had a certain elegance to her being in an orange dress that look similar to the one she wore when they first meet and her long green hair tied up. It was still a strange sight to behold seeing royalty cleaning anything like they were a servant. Then again before she was queen she was just a secret princess and probably did task such as these. Even from this distance he could tell that something was bothering her and he could probably guess as to what it was. She was just going through the motions of cleaning but her mind was elsewhere.

He hadn't realized that he had stopped or that he was even staring until there was a light nudge at his side. When he looked to his side he saw that it was Titania. She with a small smile she said, "Go on Ike, I'll finish this."

She didn't let him respond and started pulling the cart away from him and left him standing in the corridor alone. Once the red headed paladin was out of view Ike walked over toward Elincia who didn't acknowledge his presences as he approached.

At first he didn't say anything, mainly because he couldn't think of anything to say at that point, and just walked over to a fallen suit of armor and picked it up. Elincia still didn't seem to know he was just an arm's length away from her and she stayed at the same spot sweeping up the same mess. When he straightened the helmet he finally decided to asked, "How are you holding up?"

"Are you meaning my physical well-being or my mental?" She replied in a rather sharp tongue. It would seem that she knew he was there the whole time since she wasn't startled by his voice. Honestly he wasn't sure which he meant. It still looked like her back was giver her trouble and of course he was worried about all the stress she was under with all the recent events. Elincia stopped cleaning and propped the broom against the wall and then walked to the closed window that hadn't been shattered. "Regardless of the one you meant I have had much better days."

Ike strolled over to stand by her side. Their view was of the castle's main gate and the crowd of people that wanted entrance. Even from this distance he could still hear their distant roar. Elincia was torturing herself staying this close to the citizens that were demanding answers for what happened yesterday. "Well mobs tend to have that effect on people," Ike attempted to lighten the mood.

It didn't work. "I'm going to have to tell them eventually. I don't even know how I'll explain about the recent deaths that Anna and the others were responsible for," Elincia gave a frustrated sigh putting both hands on the windowsill.

"I'm sure Bastian or someone will help you with that. You won't be alone, you have tones of people backing you up," Ike reassured her.

"I know, Bastian's already writing my speech to deliver to the masses. It's just that…" she paused as she looked down at the castle grounds and watched as people were busy cleaning up the wraith's mess. Suddenly she turned and wrapped her arms around him. As she laid her head against his chest she spoke, "Why? Why can't there be a break between in all this madness? We've gone through a war, assassinations, and now we are dealing with spirits. When will it all end Ike?"

He couldn't give her an answer right away, mainly because his face was heating up. Ike also wasn't sure what to do with his hands. Finally he settled for laying one on her shoulder and the other on her back. "I think we'll be alright," he told her honestly. "We stopped a mad-king from releasing the dark god just a few months ago. This will be easy compared to that."

Elincia let out a weak laugh. "Well I certainly hope the easy part is coming soon." She made no move to separate from him and made it more clear when she asked, "Is it alright…if I stay right here…with you?"

There was no possible way his face could have gotten redder but it did. Even his ears were burning! Ike couldn't see her face to tell if she was blushing as bad as he was since she buried it in his shirt. "I uh…" He struggled to come up with something to say but he had no idea what. Part of him wanted to say it was alright but the logical side-which was just a small whisper in the back of his head- warned him about what would happen if someone saw them. There was no way he would want her to have a scandal over something as harmless as a comforting hug. But what if it wasn't all that harmless, what if-

Ike didn't finish that thought because he heard someone shushing someone else. The two of them quickly separated, but Ike peered at Elincia out of the corner of his eye to see a slight blush on her checks. Both of them waited for whomever was eavesdropping on them to come on out. When no one showed themselves Ike called them out. "You can show your selves now." He figured it was Titania returning, or Boyd, or even his sister.

But it ended up being someone completely different. He heard a familiar woman's voice say, "I told you they'd hear you!"

Coming from around the corner was Rhona and Kyle; the two assassins, along with Anna, who saved their lives during the wraith's attack. Both of them looked like little kids who have just been caught by their parents. "Normally I say spying was beneath you all but I guess that's part of your profession," Ike said to the two of them.

"That's right, but don't mind us lover boy. Go on doing what you were doing," Rhona winked at him. Ike pulled at the collar of his shirt feeling temperature rise in the room. Goddess, this woman knew how to make him uncomfortable!

"We were merely passing through," Kyle explained still looking rather guilty unlike the woman beside him. The assassin then bowed to Elincia. "But I am sorry for the trouble we have caused you, your highness. It was never the grandmaster's wish for all this to happen."

"As I've said before; though I don't condone your methods your actions have saved more lives. Besides, it's not like you all caused those wraiths to appear," Elincia told them.

Rhona shook her head. "Still, we have caused you some problems. I'm sure the grandmaster might be willing to help you out since…well we did kinda screw up by working with you and putting you in a position like this." Then that mischiefs smile returned to her face and that told Ike that he was just about to feel more embarrassed by this woman. "Now you two go back to where you were and we'll be on our way! Come on Kyle."

_Like I'm going to do anything when you say it like that!_ Ike really hoped no one else could hear this conversation. He didn't look at Elincia but he could just feel that she was just as embarrassed as him in this situation.

She began to leave but Kyle lingered for a minute. He bowed once again and added, "I'll be praying to the goddess for your solution. Do not lose faith good queen." He quickly followed after Rhona.

Once he was sure the assassins were out of hearing rang, he said to Elincia, "Geez, all these assassins are so different from one another, it's a wonder they get anything done." Really he wished they were still listening which they may very well have. Though he doubted Rhona would stay quite if she heard him.

"They certainly are a colorful bunch, huh?" Elincia giggled which caused Ike to smile at that.

At least Elincia was in better humor for now.

/~/~/

Though he was still injured Geoffrey couldn't stand to spend another minute resting while everyone else was busy cleaning up the mess from yesterday. One of the knights informed him that only one or two wraiths wondered into the city so the castle was the only place to suffer the most damage thankfully. The only civilians that were killed yesterday were the staff. Approximately sixty-seven bodies have been found, thirty-eight belonging to knights, and every now and again more were being found. Just now they were staring to be giving a proper burial those that have been identified.

Soon Queen Elincia would have to explain to the people what has happen and loved ones of the dead were banging on the palace's gates demanding answers for all the deaths. Although he wondered how she'll do that. No who didn't experience the wraith attack yesterday will understand. Goddess, he was there and still couldn't understand what happened! And if the people didn't believe their queen they could very well rebel against her and the whole war to put Elincia back on the throne would have been for naught. _Just calm down Geoffrey, just focus on the here and now,_ he kept telling himself.

However it was difficult to keep his mind away from the future since he could hear the crowd of people protesting. Geoffrey was at the royal stable since it was probably the only place his sister or the queen wouldn't find them because if they did see him out of bed he'd never hear the end of their worrying.

As he was picking up broken boards from the stable or other debris that could harm the horses when they left their stales one said horse started acting up as it was being led out into the open. It was on its hind legs and crying out of fear. The stable hand tried to calm the beast down but its flailing front legs kept him from getting closer. Its hooves slammed down onto the ground or to be more precise the stable hand's shadow.

Geoffrey ran over to the horse's side so his own shadow wasn't in view. "Move," he directed at the stable boy. The boy nodded and scurried out of kicking rang. Keeping calm Geoffrey grabbed hold of the horse's head harness to keep her still and began stroking her neck to show nothing was wrong. Once she stopped resisting his hold she stated snorting and gently padded the ground. "See, everything's fine," he told the mare who began mimicking his breathing patterns.

Now that she was calmed back down the stable hand began walking back over but Geoffrey shook his head at him. So from where he stood he said to the knight, "Thank you sir, I don't know what got into her."

"It's probably the shadows. They must be still spooked from yesterday. We should probably put some blinders on them so they don't see any shadows out of the corner of their eyes," Geoffrey suggested.

"Right sir, I'll tell everyone else to be mindful of their shadows," the boy took hold of the reins and led the horse back to the stable.

With that minor crises averted he proceeded to return to the task he had been doing when he heard the knights order the gates to be opened. Shortly a man with red armor and visor covering his face was riding up the path at breakneck speed. He was heading right for the stable and Geoffrey thought for sure he was going to crash into it.

Just as he was about to pass Geoffrey the rider pulled on the reins with all his might causing the horse's head to reared up and its hooves to stop in its tracks. "General Geoffrey!" The rider called out to him and Geoffrey instantly recognized who it was. The rider jumped off the horse leaving the poor beast to lower its head panting heavily. He then lifted the visor to reveal the face of Kieran. "General! I have returned as promised in less than twenty-four from my mission just as you asked!" The knight told him with mush pride in his voice.

Geoffrey let out a breath as he stroked the tired horse's forehead, "I know I told you in all matter of swiftness but that didn't mean you had to run this animal to death." Kieran looked slightly ashamed at that fact and removed his helmet. "Besides if you rushed how can you be certain you found out who those men where?" Shortly before the whole wraith incident Geoffrey sent Kieran to the campsite where Trebor found those bodies in hope to at least find out who they were and maybe if that would give them a hint as to the threat that still hung over the queen. Then again it could have been just been a bunch of wild animals like Trebor suspected but there was just something in his gut telling him it wasn't. It wasn't like he could ask those assassins; they still were keeping secrets so they might as well keep a few of their own.

"Worry not general, for I have brought documents from the deceased that not only identified them but also their business," he boasted. But his eyes drifted to the damage all around them. "Sir, were we attacked while I was away? What's happened here?"

He was sure the knight would believe him but he just wasn't sure how to explain it. "I'll tell you after you show me what you found."

Kieran reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a thick ledger with a dark cover. "I found out that the one in charge of that little band was a man by the name of Lalat," the knight said as he handed the ledger to Geoffrey.

_Lalat, _Geoffrey knew he had heard that name somewhere before. As he opened the book to see what kind of business transaction this Lalat had made before his death. It didn't take long for him to figure out what kind of business he was in; human trafficking. Now he knew who this man was. Lalat was a renowned slaver though no one could ever prove it. Not only did he deal with turning laguz into slaves but also beorc. But he was smart about this business unlike others. He took those that wouldn't be missed: orphans, widows, even the sick and lame. "So now it looks like the assassins have eliminated a slaver."

"None of these men seem to be linked at all. The assassins haven't killed anyone else have they?" Kieran asked which reminded Geoffrey that he also had to explain that they had teamed up with said assassins.

Looking back at the castle he thought about all those that died in the attack yesterday and then about his own near death experience with Satu. "No one's dead because of them," he answered truthfully.

"Well that's at least some good news," Kieran said looking relieved. "One more thing though; Lalat and his men recently did business here in the city. And when I mean recent I mean like three days ago!"

"What?" Geoffrey's eyes widen at the thought a slaver was able to enter their city. He'd have to look and see who was on guard duty and question how they could have let them in. He quickly flipped through the pages to the last entry to see who he sold too but a loud thundering sound which alarmed him caused him to drop the book.

It was as if the air itself exploded! He heard Kieran and a few others gasp at what they were seeing behind him and he even heard some of the distant civilians crying out in horror. He turned around to see what had caused this and his mouth dropped at what he saw.

One of the large windows on the second floor was broken but the worst part was that there were flames pouring out of it! It took a minute to realize that it was the royal library that was on fire! He knew Bastian and Ike's tactician were in there looking over all their evidence and clues about the conspiracy going on. There could be no telling who else could have been in there or around. Maybe the fire was spreading?

He didn't think about his injuries as he began rushing toward the castle and very soon his chest began causing him great pain. Geoffrey used the fence post as a support and clutched the spot under his shirt where the bandages were. It would seem that all the excitement has reopened the wound.

"General! Are you alright?" Kieran rushed over to him was about to help his commanding officer when Geoffrey pushed him away.

"Never mind me! Gather some knights and get everyone out of the castle!" He ordered.

"Yes sir!" Kieran said and ran off to get others.

He watched as other knights began running in to evacuate everyone. Someone else was giving orders and he heard someone shout to find the queen. To assassins, wraiths, and now fires possibly destroying all their evidence! Their luck seems to be going from bad to worse. He wondered what else is going to happen.

/~/~/

**Random Z-skit Fire Emblem style number 5!**

Shinon: So...you're the archer that killed the tax collector in Tarreftnom.  
Kyle: Yes I'm afraid so.  
Rolf: Wow, I heard about how you had to shoot from a narrow window and through a tree in order to hit him! That's some skill you have there.  
Kyle: Oh no, my skill with a bow is mediocre at most. If anything it is the goddess who guided my arrow to its mark.  
Shinon: You sound like a damn priest rather than an assassin.  
Rolf: Your teacher must have been nearly as good as Uncle Shinon!  
Kyle: I never had anyone teach me how to use a bow. All the skill I have is purely self-taught.  
Shinon: Well I could still outshoot you anytime if my arm wasn't broken.  
Kyle: I've no doubt you could. Anyway I better go check the perimeter. *Kyle leaves*  
Shinon: Geez I hate guys like him. I can't tell if he's actually being modest or just plain arrogant.  
Rolf: I wonder if praying to the goddess more gives you more luck?  
Shinon: Don't even think about Rolf.

/~/~/

_Was he really asking me to quit being an assassin to become a nanny? I may have taken care of my sister when we were younger but that didn't mean I was willing to take care of my former master's child._

"_Hey I think I've read this poem before. Oh I can't remember where though!"_

_Every breath was filled smoke. If only he could find his tome he'd be able to blow all away however that could probably feed the flames more._


	19. Anniversary Special!

**Disclaimer: **To understand the references in this story knowledge of the previous story by Queenblue093 or at least knowing what she has written is advised. If not, knowledge of the Tales series will also do. If you have not it is advisable to get into this amazing game series.  
No seriously, get into this series if you have not.

Anniversary Special!

A now clean ballroom is filled with people in who had been in the story thus far. Tables are filled with food as main characters and faceless extras interact with one another.

**Ike**: It's hard to believe it's been a year already.

**Ralik:** A year? What are you talking about? It's only been a few weeks at most.

**Ike:**…Maybe in story context but in actual time it's been a year.

**Ralik**: What? W-well I uh…I knew that.

**Mist**: Sure you did.

**Ralik**: Oh be quite Misty.

**Mist**: For the last time! My name is Mist!

**Leila** runs up all excited: This party is so much fun! Too bad Anna and Runalf had to miss this.

**Kyle**: Don't forget about Ghost. I sure wish we knew what happened to him.

**Leila**: I'll be sure to save some food for them.

**Ike**: That's very thoughtful of you.

**Soren**: Ike do I really have to stay?

**Ike**: Yes. You skipped out of the last one so now you have to stay. It won't kill you to socialize

**Soren**: I'm going to be in a fire next chapter.

**Ike**:…

Suddenly a young man dressed in red and twin swords strapped to his side appears. **?:** A whole year and you haven't changed one bit, have you Soren?

**Ike**: Lloyd! What in the world are you doing here?

**Lloyd**: Queen Blue invited us.

**Mist**: Are the others here with you?

**Lloyd**: Sadly, they couldn't make it. Only Colette came with me. _*He looks over his shoulder expecting to see his friend only to find no one there.*_ Colette? Colette where are you?

Ike looks around too only to notice that Leila was gone too. **Ike:** Great, now she's gone too.

**Ralik**: So after a year you still can't keep her out of trouble. Some protector you turned out to be.

**Ike**: You're one to talk! You've known her for what, twelve years, and I don't see you doing any better!

**Ralik**: Wait you think she's twelve? Leila's-

**Mist**: There they are!

She points at the two missing girls who are on their knees petting a dog. Many of them blinked to make sure their seeing was correct. The dog was a rather strange sight. He had a large scar over his left eye and a chain around his neck. But the strangest thing was that he had a pipe in his mouth.

**Colette**: Lloyd! Isn't he just the cutest dog ever! I think we should name him Ted.

**Lloyd**: Umm…Yeah real…cute?

**Soren**: She's not even concerned knowing how a dog got in here.

**Ike**: Leila I wouldn't get too close to it. He doesn't look too friendly.

Completely ignoring him Leila began to scratch behind the dog's ear. He barked in delight and nudged for her to continue. **Leila** **giggling:** Yeah he seems real viscous Ike.

**Soren**: Is that a knife on the dog's side?

Indeed there was one strapped to his side.

**Tibarn**: Well now I've seen it all. First a laguz uses a weapon and now a dog! Has the world gone mad!

**Ralik**: What are you implying hawk king?

**Tibarn**: A beast doesn't need steal when they're born with claws and fangs to fight.

The dog turns his head to the hawk and growled at him.

**Ralik**: You said it dog.

**Ike**: Wait Ralik, can you understand him.

**Ralik**: Not exactly. But I imagine he's defending his right to bear arms. Just because we're canines doesn't mean we have to stick with our teeth.

The dog gave an affirmative howl.

**Rhona**: Oh look, the dog siding with the dog. Oh original.

**Ralik**: Quite woman.

They all turned their attention away from the two quarrelling assassins.

**Ike**: So Lloyd I wanted to ask you and Colette something. Have you heard anything new about the sequel?

**Lloyd**: Not a whole lot. I know Blue wants to rewrite the first one and that she finished the cover page for both stories.

**Leila**: You guys are doing a sequel ? Can I be in it Ike? Please? _*Her puppy dog face*_

**Ike**: Well Leila…You see the thing is…

**?:** Wow, you guys are slow on the up take.

**Ike**: Who's there?

A man wearing all black and long dark purple hair walks in with a sheathed sword in hand walks into the room. **?:** The name's Yuri Lowell. And that's my partner Repede.

The dog strolls over to stand by Yuri and barks.

**Lloyd**: I've heard you're name somewhere before. You're from Vesperia, aren't you?

**Ike**: Oh so are you a new character or something?

**Yuri**: New character? What do I look like some minor? I'm the main character in the next story.

**Lloyd**: You're the main character? But Ike and I are supposed to be the main characters!

**Repede:** Woof!

**Ike**: Where's Blue at? We'll have her settle this.

**Yuri**: That's the thing. She's busy so she sent me give you all a message. She will be doing your sequel, she's just writing a Tales of Vesperia story first.

**Mist**: Did she say why?

**Yuri**: It was something about not liking this one character and being tempted to kill her. I don't really know myself. Blue told Flynn who told Estelle who then told me so the message is a little messed up. I think it was Marty or Martha.

**Colette**: Marta?

**Yuri**: That's the one.

**Lloyd**: Oh, well that's understandable.

**Ike**: Who's Marta?

**Lloyd**: You'll find out eventually.

**Colette**: I thought Marta was rather nice.

**Lloyd**: Colette you're too nice.

**Ike**: I guess a small break after this story wouldn't be so bad. You must be excited about you own story.

**Yuri**: I'm not.

**Ike**: You're not?

**Yuri**: I've seen what Blue has in store for me. I am not looking forward to going to jail for something I didn't do! I'm there enough with my own crimes.

**Ike**: Your own crimes?

**Lloyd**: Are you sure you're a Tales Hero?

**Yuri**: Hey! Why are you all looking at me like that?

**Leila**: Queen Blue would like to thank everyone for their current and continued support.

Repede howls.


End file.
